The Best Birthday EVER!

My sneaky kids went and met at Jen's studio one night last week and surprised me with a bunch of family photos Jen took. They are making a book for me and are letting me pick my favorite one to do in a framed 24x36 over the fireplace. I was so touched I cried like a baby! Gosh, I love them kids...and ya gotta admit, they are ONE ADORABLE BUNCH. Now I have to make a decision by tomorrow so she can place the order. These are just a few of them...I swear there's 20 to pick from.

45 years young

How on earth did this happen? I still think of myself as a young mom. I was telling a friend after church today that "I'm halfway to 50!" What the heck is wrong with me? Not only am I getting OLD, I'm getting STUPID too! Okay, what I meant was in the terms of THIS decade (40th year), I'm halfway to 50. Oh, whatever...I knew what I meant.

I'm in pursuit of happiness and joy. I'll letcha know if I get there. In the meantime, I'm trying to be optimistic that one day I'll find it. Going to go sort tomatoes and fulfill my motherly obligations. (more laundry, cooking, and and cleaning.)

Sittin' back and enjoying the Weather

What a beautiful week it has been here in Michigan. I am thoroughly enjoying the gorgeous weather and feeling a bit more productive despite this nasty chest cold I've had.

Yesterday I got Jennifer's old room cleaned out... Jordy tried it for a week (room is bigger than hers) but she missed her childhood bedroom and moved back into it. She still has a few things in there, but for the most part, it's empty. And echoey. Before I move up all the bins from my sewing room that have been in storage, I think I'm going to attempt putting up some closet organizers first. (or maybe I'll have "the Man" help me out.) I'm sew excited. (oh man, that was baaaaad.) Actually this is going to be a sewing/craft/scrapbooking room with a spare bed in it.

Let's see how long it takes me to get it done. I have other priorities first. Like painting my bathroom. Like stripping wallpaper out of my half bathroom. Like painting the trim in my hallway and painting my stairway and finishing painting my bedroom and...well, let's just say I've got a lotta work to do.

Better get busy.

But first I need to do some laundry.

and dishes.

and dust.

and vacuum.

and make dinner.

and...

My crazy Girls

My girls know how to make me laugh. These pictures almost look like they are mirror images of each other. Everyone asks if they're twins...yes, twins two years apart! Jordy was having fun with her new mac-book.

I'm still feelin' pretty sick today even though I canned another double batch of pear sauce this afternoon. I didn't get to make my salsa over the weekend cuz I was having a hard time breathing. I'm on an antibiotic right now and hope to be feeling better by morning. I have several hair appointments later in the day so I have to feel better...I'm hoping to at least blanche and skin the tomatoes in the morning and perhaps around 3:00 I can do my canning before my 6:30 haircut. I'm heading to bed, I'm exhausted.

Under the Weather

Josh is in action (in blue) fending off #44 who wants to get to the ball.

The four captains of the team after practice looking pretty mean. Garrett, Murphy, Josh, and Ryan. Their eyes are on Ford Field for the 3rd time. Can they make it a 3-peat for a State Championship? Stay tuned through November.

This photo exemplifies how I've been feeling the past two days. I feel like a horse is standing on my chest and has squished nearly all of the air out of my lungs. My head is stuffed up, yet I have a runny nose and a fever. At first I just thought it was seasonal allergies, because I was sneezing like a fool...until the fever came.

Of course NOTHING can stop this mom from watching her boys play football. Josh had a big game last night against a very tough Detroit Catholic School. We won 20-7. There was a feature picture of him and an article about the game in our local newspaper this morning (giving him accolades). I'm not gonna lie...it brought tears to my eyes with pride... Especially knowing everything that kid has been through this past year.

He was voted on Homecoming Court this week and gets to wear a tux ($100 bux at our expense). Hey, it's all about the threads with the guys. Needless to say, it's been a good week for him.

Then this morning we left at 10 am to head to Detroit for the JV game. Jake played his heart out and was devastated to lose this game. He left everything he had on the field and was quite emotional afterwards. He plays with such intensity just like his older brothers. Brother Ryan is his O-Line coach and inspires and motivates Jake on the sidelines. It's pretty "tight" (as Jake would say) to have his big "bro" coaching him. Poor Jake is just shaking this "creeping crud" sickness that I recently came down with. It looks like it's going to be a long week for me. I'm only on day two of the "sickness" and he's had it for over a week and still "horking up loogies".

(does anyone know where I can find a teenager dictionary?)

A fun little project

Johanna Kriesel prints.

The other night I went over to Jordanne's (future) house to help re-cover some dining room chairs her and Dustin inherited from his grandma. She ordered an Amy Butler print from Fabric.com (love that website!). What a fun day. I took Jen and Jordy out to lunch at TGI Fridays and we just sat there long after our meal just gabbing away, laughing and bein' silly. Jen had to go but me and Jordy ventured on to her house. We found some old velcro rollers from Dust's grandmas things and had some fun.

Okay pay no attention to my incredibly sweaty face...It was hotter than heck in there! I can't believe I even posted this picture but some day when I'm dead and gone...my kids might remember that I was a nut once in awhile. (Woo Hoo! Jordy and I shared a Mojito...now that's livin' dangerously.)

here's the chair in it's BEFORE state:

and now...the AFTER!

All together in the dining room. Don'tcha just love the orange? Isn't this a typical artist's house?

Now...can't you just imagine those prints matted and framed (at the beginning of the post) hanging on this bare orange wall? Well Jordy will have to wait because they are a Christmas present. (ain't I a bugger?)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun/ Cyndi Lauper

I AM A FAILURE and other hateful things

This is not easy to say since I usually think "I'm kind of big deal" (a household joke, people...I really don't think this!!!) ...BUT the truth be known...that BEAUTIFUL plum jelly I made the other day???? It is Plum HONEY. Yes, it's the consistency of honey which, still tastes delicious and will be wonderful on fresh Belgian waffles or pancakes or drizzled over vanilla ice cream...but what a messy peanut butter sandwich!

In hindsight...I think my Pectin was out of date. I bought it on clearance at TARGET oh, several years ago...and thought it would still be good. (there was no expiration date on it!) Really, do jello boxes go bad? Isn't this kind of the same stuff ?

I have made jams and jellies before and have had great success...all the other canning endeavors I've ever done have yielded great results. With exception to this (did I say beautiful?) plum jelly. I AM A FAILURE! ...and it hurts so much to say it because I was really impressed with the crystal clear clarity (thanks to cheesecloth).

Well let this be known: I'm jumping back into the saddle. I'm going back to pick some more plums and I'm going to do it again. This time, I'm buying fresh certo and using every single 7 1/2 cups of sugar the recipe calls for. If it works this time, I'll post the recipe for those inquiring minds who want to know. I CAN DO THIS!

Okay...on to other things. First let me start off by saying that by no means do I have anything against living in a trailer park. Early in our married life, we lived in a trailer...on a street with other trailers around. (not necessarily a "park", but I digress.) Anyways...my intention is not to offend anyone where they live. I truly don't care where you live. But there seems to be a "mentality" that suggests that trashy people live in trailer parks, which is ludicrous. Trashy people can live in hoity toity subdivisions and decent neighborhoods too.

That being said...we have been noticing that a certain "mindset" of people seem to be moving into our neighborhood. It's hard to explain... but they are disrespectful to the rights of others around them... they don't care if they're disruptive...they are renters. (and we were renters for our first 9 years of our married life, but we always respected our neighbors.)

At midnight last night, the people on the "Compound" were shooting off fireworks. ON A FRIGGIN" TUESDAY NIGHT! I realize that Mr. Compound man doesn't have a job to get up for, but please respect the sleep of those who do. The fireworks set off a series of barks from those neighbors who leave their dogs out all night. (which happen to live next door to me.)

Well, those neighbors (also renters) were out partying late last night and decided to pull their truck on our grass (between our properties) at, oh 2:00 am this morning. (which set off another series of barks.) Not only did the dogs, the lights and the diesel engine noise wake me from a dead sleep, it was the "guys" discussing loudly how "f#*$'ed up" they were and how badly they needed to "take a (pee)". By this time I was looking out the window to see what the heck woke me up...and I watched one of the figures walk over to our white vinyl fencing and "relieve himself" while shouting about how wasted he was. NICE.

This would probably be the owner of the black truck who has a VULGAR quip emblazoned in large white vinyl lettering across the back window of his truck:

MOTHER MADEM

MOTHER F#*KEM

Yes...VERY NICE. I did call the township on that one since we are a family oriented neighborhood and some of us nice folks with kids are still trying to "Live the dream", but I was told something about "freedom of expression". Yeah, whatever.

Anyways...after a quick beer on the front lawn, Mr. Mother hater decided to lock up his truck (7 or 8 times which set off a series of car horn beeps, which in turn set off a series of barks.) You know, you can never be too sure of your neighbors...ya never know who might be sitting in a bush waiting for you to park your VULGAR unlocked truck so they could steal your pack of Camels off your dash.

YUCK. I had all I could do from hafefully yelling out my bedroom window, "Hey, Motherhater! Why don't you take it back to the trailer park where you came from!"

...of course, I didn't say that...I did what every respectful neighbor would do...I grumbled under my breath and tried to fall back asleep.

So needless to say, I didn't have much sleep last night...and then I got a call at 8 am from the gym my son has a membership at. I called yesterday disputing a change in the membership dues (which we had to sign a year contract for). I felt they should honor the year contract terms of service and were in violation by changing the terms. I got a snot-nosed disrespectful young woman with a huge chip on her shoulder spouting that "the economy is so bad that we had to raise the prices to cover our costs!"

Wait one minute here, toots...I am very aware of the rising prices around us, but last I checked...a contract was a binding deal that you were held to...on BOTH sides. I said, "Then can I cancel my membership?" ... she gave me a resounding "hell no". (okay, just a firm NO) She proceeded to tell me that my son agreed that the "surcharges" could change at any time within our contract. Now I ask you, who on earth would sign a contract with stipulations like that? All I got was a snotty "there's nothing I can do to change it" answer.

I shot back with a "well that's no way to get repeat customers...I guarantee you I won't be referring anyone to your gym...thank you for your time"...click.

(*music of the day: RESPECT / Aretha Franklin)

See what happens when people don't RESPECT their neighbors?

The single guys

This picture was on my desktop screen this morning and it just cracked.me.up. This a picture of the two "single guys" (Josh and Murphy) acting goofy after the football game on Friday night. Click on the picture to get a load of that humongous smile on Josh's (#33) face. Wow, how long it's been since I've seen that smile! He asked a girl to Homecoming over the weekend and is enjoying the "single guy" life. Ah... what a huge relief... life is finally getting back to normal.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Somebody has a birthday today. It's no secret my mom is the most influential woman in my life. She is the strongest, kindest, most genuine person I know. This is now officially my most favorite picture of my mom...It shows the fun and youthful spirit she has.
This day was one of my fondest memories...a day spent with my 3 favorite girls.
Even though we didn't get to spend the day on the beach this year, (crappy summer when we were on vacation) I still look forward to another fun day at Freda Beach next year. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Two batches of plum jelly

Well this morning I just couldn't wait to get busy with my next canning project: That bowl of plums sitting in my kitchen just waiting to attract fruit flies. Pat has been eating these plums by the handful and then wondered why his belly was aching. (I had to remind him that prunes were just dried plums and I literally saw the light-bulb go off over his head.) 'Nuff said.

It's funny that I just remember the process of canning after growing up watching my mom do it. I must say, it's such a good feeling when it's all done and the jars are lined up on the counter, hearing the lids pop simultaneously...but then again, I need to get a life. These jars of jelly are absolutely beautiful...and oh so yummy. I think I would make my momma proud.

The fruit of my Labor

All day of work with so little to show for it. But it sure feels good to hear all my canning lids go "POP".
This was seriously two bags of pears which condensed into four quart jars of pear sauce. The pink one was some cinnamon applesauce I just threw together. To tell you the truth, if I could just buy pear sauce at the store, I wouldn't bother making it. It is a LOT of work to clean all those pears, boil them down and grind them through the foley food mill. (which separates the skins from the sauce.) But man, is it yummy. My kids just love it. I'm going to go pick more pears tomorrow if it ever stops raining.

My next canning endeavor is to make some plum jelly. I think I'm going to go pick some more plums before I tackle this project.

Despite the fact that it was an incredibly busy day...it really felt good to harvest my crops and do some old fashioned canning.

Now I'm going to go crack a beer and sit in the hot tub in the warm rain to soak my aching back.

By the way...the football game last night was a huge blowout. We beat the Canadians 55-6. We pulled our starters after a few plays and put in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string to give them some game experience... so Josh stood on the sidelines for most of the game.

music of the day: More than Enough/Chris Tomlin

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Did someone say, SALSA???

Pretty sad when you get all excited about a few bags of pears, a huge bowl of plums, a surplus of tomatoes, and a great deal at Rite Aid - (buy one get one free on the bags of Peanut M&M's.) Seriously...I've said it before. I need to get a life.

Fall harvest time gets me very excited to do some canning...make some pear sauce (like babyfood), plum jelly, and some fresh salsa. And those peanut M&M's? Well, those are for me, silly! I can't pass up a deal like that! Despite the huge funk I've been in...I'm attempting to crawl out of it through prayer, perserverance, and copious amounts of peanut M&M's. It's just a little thing I find that helps pull me out of a funk...I learned it from my mom. (and you thought you were eating all those M&M's you hid in your underwear drawer, mom?)

I can't wait to start canning tomorrow morning! I think I'll start with the salsa since the tomatoes are piling up. I think I feel those copious amounts of peanut M&M's working already.

Gonna go throw some vittles together and get ready for some Friday Night Football! We're hosting a team from Canada tonight....Saunder's Secondary School from London, Ontario. The talk on the street is that their Junior team won the city championships in 2007. Should be a good game.

Oh, and a note to self: *next time your kid asks for some cash to get a "pre-game" sub at Subway? DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR DEBIT CARD!!!! I ended up paying for 3 football players to eat instead of one. This is a kid who needs to get a job. I'm thinking up several jobs for him to do tomorrow.

Time to get a life...

I'm starting to think I really need to get a life. I mean, really!?! Who spends an entire afternoon watching Fox News while poring over the Sunday inserts and researching online to find the best vacuum to buy for your buck? In the meantime, the dust bunnies are multiplying like, um...well, BUNNIES. I swear there's a time thief in my house and I have just majorly failed the Flyladies' method of housekeeping and organization... But I digress.

So hours later and still no vacuum. I cannot justify spending $400 for a Dyson. (even though I secretly covet one.) I currently have an Oreck which just seems to spit dust back out into the room, making my house the dustiest house ever. *sigh. (This is where I start beating myself up for being a defeated perfectionist.)

Anyways...another day has gone by and I haven't managed to accomplish a darned thing. What on earth is wrong with me? I have had headaches from hell and find myself paralyzed with social anxiety. I just cannot even get motivated to clean my house or go out shopping. Normally the month of September fills me we motivation and hope.

(okay...do ya think I could be depressed?) I mean...I am turning 45 the end of this month. I am feeling a little down about some little life changes. Maybe I need to start jogging. I'm past a "mid-life" crisis (cuz I doubt I'll live 'til 90) and I think I must be too young to start being "menopausal"... I just think I'm in a funk and I need to shake myself loose.

(and man, wouldn't jogging do that?)...now there's a visual.

Something Heavenly

Funny how God sometimes talks to us through the words of a song. I heard this song on the radio this morning after dropping Jake off to school and it just.spoke.to.my.heart.
Things are going so well for Josh right now. We have our son back. Tonight he just told me, "Have I told you how nice it is to be SINGLE...and free of all that (girlfriend) drama?" (Even though she continues to try and call his cellphone and tries to talk to him in school)
We reinstated his text messaging priveleges tonight and immediately put a block on the "ex" gf's number. He finally "gets it" and is thankful we loved him so much to fight to get him back. But now, it's time for healing...just listen to the song.


Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) lyrics by Sanctus Real
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
All I can do is surrender

[Chorus]

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Revaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow your will
or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is you want from me
I give everything I surrender...

To...[Chorus]

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to to release all my held back tears

Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This something bigger than me
Larger than life something heavenly
Something heavenlyIt's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time breathe in and let everything out

Football update

Well it turned out to be an absolutely perfect night for football, despite the weather report. We even had some dedicated and devoted football dads who threw together a pig roast for our tailgating party. (yes, you read that right.) There was some high class state championship tailgating going on, people! It started at 2:00 and wrapped up just before the varsity game began at 7:00.

The JV game was astounding, considering the fact that this team last year did not have an impressive record. We won 21-6. Jacob had the best game of his life! Now I'm not bragging, I'm stating a fact, because I even heard it out of a lot of parents. This is his first year playing linebacker (like his older bro Josh) and all I can say folks, is that they were sayin' his name a lot over the loudspeaker. (making tackles, not scoring)

Now we knew going into the varsity game that it was going to be a battle. We lost to this team last year during the regular season... on our home field. Both these teams ended up in the state championship games in different divisions. We won ours, they lost theirs. So this was a tough game with a lot to prove. Let's just say, especially on our side... REVENGE was their goal. (that sounds just awful, doesn't it?)

Well we won 17-14. It was a tough game...the other team had possession of the ball and they were driving down the field. It was their last chance to score. Josh forced a fumble and one of our players recovered it- game over! The photographer on the sideline told Josh that it was the game saving play. It was an exciting game and the defense ended up saving the day.

What a great way to spend the day; beautiful weather, dual victories, and a class act tailgate party. We got home quite late (or early Saturday morning).

Needless to say, all day Saturday I was a slug- lounging around all day, taking a nap, and shirking my cleaning plans. I guess we all need a day like that every now and then...

...although there seems to be a pattern developing.

Friday Night Football

Well looks like our first "Friday Night Lights" game will be a cold, wet, rainy night. So I packed a thermos of hot coffee, blankets, umbrellas, change of clothes, and raingear. Tonight are the back to back games in Traverse City so we'll be gone all day and late into the night. Updates on the game later.

Trying to get back into the groove...

Man, I don't know why it's been so hard to get back into the groove- but I'm thinking that hormones at that "time of the month" must have something to do with it. Yuck. I swear I've been useless lately. The gloomy, cloudy, rainy weather doesn't help things either...and the fact that my oldest kid just officially moved out yesterday.

It was a tearful moment as I pulled her teddy bears off her shelf and packed them into a box. I was flooded with fond memories as I recalled buying that little teddy bear from the department store when I found out I was pregnant. I remembered her cutting teeth and gnawing the fuzzy nose off that teddy bear...and how she always had it sitting in her crib, on the corner of her bed, then how it graduated to a place high up on a shelf. My eyes welled up with tears as I pulled it off the shelf and dusted off his cute little head. I tried so hard to cry silently while she was in the bathroom...careful for her not to see me getting emotional. But I wasn't quick enough to get it out of my system. She walked in and caught me...and joined me in a tearful moment.

I realize it's a rite of passage when you're 23, graduated from college, and starting your own business. I knew it was coming and honestly, I know it needed to happen...but it still felt sad. I guess I can blame it on the hormones.

A Mother's New Year!

Yes, folks...it's back to school time! It's that time of the year that fills mothers with anticipation of getting organized, getting in shape, and getting back to business as usual.

I am filled with hope for a new year in September because the start of a new school year is a BIG DEAL. My boys are starting their sophomore and senior years. Where has this time gone?

My time has not been my own all summer long. It's been a l.o.n.g. summer with the ex-girlfriend drama playing out right up until last night- on the eve of the first day of school. Because I care...because I want the best for my kids...because I'm involved in their lives...I feel their stress and I feel their pain as well as share in their joy and their achievements. This rollercoaster has taken an incredible toll on our entire family. To know it's finally over (from his side anyway) has been a huge relief. Now we have to wait and see how she handles it with the return of school. They have their first 3 hours together and because their school is so small, the guidance counselor tells me there is nothing he can do to change it. I have the support of the teachers and trust me, we've done our part.

So in light of all this...I'm going to hit the bathrooms. It's a good day to start cleaning.