This and That

HI!  Just a little bit of this and that on this last day of August (the unofficial last weekend of summer) BOO!

1) Where have I been, no where, but now I understand how hard this blogging stuff can be! (Sorry my 3 followers, I will try to do better)
2) I miss my sister-neighbor-friend!  She needs to return so I feel right in this world!
3) Football season is here!  I'm excited to watch the games and go tailgating, but that just means it's fall, and what follows fall, winter... 
4) I'm really bummed.  I just realized I don't have a vacation planned... I need to get on that.  I'm thinking something tropical, something that I need a passport for and has a beach waiting for me at the other end.  I will keep you posted!
5) My hubby and I just celebrated 5 years of marriage bliss! So that means we have been together for 15 years!  What! That is almost half of my life!  But SO looking forward to the next 15 years!
6) I need to find my homeowner-motivation.  I'm hoping now that we are coming into cooler days, I will get some stuff done around this place! My list just keeps getting longer and nothing is getting crossed off.  Maybe if I blog about my goals (better known as maintenance that needs to be done around the house)  I might just get them done.  Don't they say if you write out your "goals" they will get done? 
7) Work is REALLY busy lately.  But it has been good busy!  There are days I'm a little overwhelmed, but for the most part it is the prefect amount of busy to keep me motivated (At least I'm motivated somewhere!)
8) We just got our carpets cleaned and with that, we rearranged the house.  I think I like it...  I liked the other way better, but this new set up is growing on me.  The test will be when we have our group of friends over...  That will be the test!  (For the record this doesn't count as homeowner-motivation, I paid for someone to clean my carpets)
9) I just brought my first Christmas present of the year!  Those little ones are just so darn easy to buy for!
10) I've been working from home on Fridays all summer.  LOVE IT.  But it might be coming to an end...  This all started when my carpool buddy had a medical leave.  So to save gas money, my boss OK'd me to work from home 1 day a week, but the agreement was to end on Labor Day weekend.  Next Friday I have a meeting on site and my boss hasn't given me the thumbs up to continue, yet...

All right back to work!  Enjoy your last weekend (unofficially) of summer!

The Kiss

After 5 years I still remember this kiss.

Lettuce Necessities

This year I made an attempt to grow my own lettuce. My mom gave me the idea last year to plant it in my containers before I put flowers in them.  You can ideally start growing lettuce in mid-April in the Mitten state, where as one isn't quite brave enough to plant flowers yet, due to the chance of frost.  And it was a success!  I had quite the generous crop!  But it takes some tools to get your lettuce ready to consume. 

A must have tool for home grown lettuce is the salad spinner.  That is the best intervention ever!  Lettuce can get pretty dirty and needs to be washed a couple times. That thing makes it easy to soak and then spin dry!  However if all you have are strainers, those will work, just the spin dry processes because more of a pat dry processes...

And the final product!!

Is a yummy bowl of salad.  So what have we been having for dinner lately, grilled chicken salad, grilled steak salad, a little side salad with pork chops, and I've been having a salad for lunch every other day!  I've even gave some to the neighbor, and still took some to work for a pot luck!  I believe I will be doing this again next year! 

Not sure who said this, but it rings true in my world “Friends are the Bacon Bits in the Salad Bowl of Life.”
Well OK, maybe in my Hubby's salad, because to him a salad with no bacon is just a bowl of lettuce.  True, honey, so very true!

Vegas Baby!

Ah, the feeling of a good vacation.  A suitcase full of dirty clothes, a sunburn and an equal feeling of being relaxed and run down.  Yup, that's me!  Returning from 6 nights and 7 days out in the desert.  Destination Vegas was a mix of quality time with an old friend, being crazy with a soon to be newly-wed cousin and the Hubby enjoying his favorite pastime of, you guessed it, gambling!

We have an old friend that moved to Vegas a couple years ago, so to make the trip a bit cheaper, (what happened to cheap flights to Vegas?) we stay with her and her husband.  We flew out last year, that was when we met her husband for the first time and the two men hit it off immediately!  Tanner had lived in Vegas for 2 years and had never gambled, so Hubby had a great time showing him the ropes, and wouldn't you know it, beginners luck is a great thing.  However, for this trip, I think Tanner was more of Hubby's lucky charm, he can roll a mean hard 8!  Unfortunately we didn't come back millionaires. Only with some great laughs and memories with those two! I'll take that any day! I can't express enough thanks for the hospitality they showed us.  Stocked fridge, private pool, and even let us borrower the car so we could have a date on our own.  I hope they can make it out this summer so we can show them the same, plus it has been way to many years since Erin has been back in town.  Looking forward to back-roading and taking the boat out when they do come, just like the good old days.

As for the crazy cousin...  Wow, I'm too old to be "clubbing" or maybe it was me wearing the stilettos, or was it trying to keep up with 8 twenty-somethings, wow.  But it was quite the experience, nothing like "Hangover", but an experience that I'm glad I did.  And might have to do again, when the even younger cousin gets married...

So, I'll leave you with a picture of what Erin and I did the whole time.  Yup, that was laugh!  And maybe cry a time or two too...  But it was good to see an old friend.  Even thought it feels great to be back home!

Playing in the Dirt

That is what I've been doing for the past 2 1/2 weekends.  But I enjoy it.  I love the feeling of accomplishment after I've planted and clean up my flower beds.  I then could spend hours sitting on my pouch with a cold beverage and just gaze out at all my hard work.  Now the hard part, waiting for them to fill out the containers and beds.  But nothing that a little Miracle Grow can't help!

Ah, I think I might just have to jet set off somewhere while the Miracle Grow does it job! 

Mommy

My Mommy

A beautiful lady inside and out.  I hope one day, I can be as great of a mother she has been to me.  Knows a little bit about everything, and if she hasn't even done it, she will figure out a way to do it. 

The most recent fun she'd been having lately is that she thinks she is "Techie"...  Within the last few months, she has gotten a new
~ "Smart" phone and can text me (all the time!)
~ A new car (Ford Explorer) that she can talk to, call me from, ask about the weather, etc.  Sync is fun!
~ Joined Facebook!
~ And for her Birthday, my dad brought her the new Kindle Fire.  Um, can I get one! 
She now has more techie toys than me!

Happy Mother's day Mom, I hope you are reading this from your new Kindle!

Tid Bits

A little about me, right now

~ I have Poison Ivy and I think it's spreading...
~ I have learned to work 4 day hair, and it looks GOOD!
~ I don't have a real sister, just a best friend that I call my sister!
~ Vegas is in my near future and I can't wait, 4 days in the desert, OK!
~ I desperately need to take my cats to the vet, and then I just got the reminder I need to take my dogs, not looking forward to that bill...
~ I will be playing in the dirt again this weekend, hopefully without poison ivy lurking...
~ Tonight I get to hang with 2 of my really sweet, fun girls!
~ I normally car pool, except for the last few weeks.  It will be bitter sweet when my buddy returns...
~ I'm really liking how working from home feels!
~ I have a hand full of topics for the blog, just to lazy to write them out...
~ I should be working, and not typing this random list out.
~ When doing projects around the house, I (we) really need to learn to take before and after pictures!
~ I have way to much to do before I leave for Vegas.
~ And because you can't end on the 13th note, and because I have a doomsday calender (joke from a lady at work) There are only 227 days left until the end of the world. Live them to the fullest!

The Chef vs.The Baker

Which one are you:  A Baker?  A Chef?  A Microwaver?  A Burner?  A Take-outer? A throw it together and call it dinner? Do you follow recipes to the T?  Throw a little of this or that in the mix?

I would consider myself a cook, that throws a little of this and that in!  And sometimes I would call myself "just throw it together and call it dinner".  Most times it works, every now and then, it doesn't...  I also wouldn't consider myself a burner, however Hubby likes things WELL DONE!  Which makes things easy, however makes it hard to cook for other people.

In our household, getting take out is a treat or for a busy night where neither of us feel like anything but Pizza or Fried Chicken.  There isn't many choices out in the sticks where we live.  Your choices are Pizza, Pizza, Pizza or the sit down place just down the road (other wise known as the Fried Chicken place). 

A baker...  Well I attempt it...  And it just never turns out like moms...

But back to my cooking affair of a little bit of this and that...  I was introduce to Pioneer Women over a year ago... The other day she posted a recipe that looked delish!  Chicken Florentine with Pasta, with ingredients that I normally have on hand.  So I gave it a tried, well, come to find out I didn't have the chicken broth it called for and I needed use up some asparagus.  So the experiment began...

(Please click on the above link for amounts)



So the parts that I didn't quite follow according to P-Dub's recipe...  First, I think the recipe calls for a dry white wine and chicken broth.  Well, I didn't have chicken broth and the wine was a little on the sweet side rather than dry.  What did I do?  Just added the wine like it was chicken broth and then added the same amount she called for of the wine.  Second, she doesn't mention the asparagus, but I needed to use it up, so while the wine and garlic simmered together I added the asparagus at that time to saute together.  The rest I pretty much followed.

The verdict...  It was excellent!  Like, really good!  However, Hubby thought it was a little light, but what does he know (just kidding babe)...  And the next day for lunch...  It was just as good cold.  I'm thinking this would make a nice (fancy) summer salad...

So there you have it.  If you ever cook with me, just know that I don't follow the recipes to a T (maybe that is way my baking is lacking...)  I just eye ball the amounts of garlic etc..  And it normally turns out delish!

Happy cooking!

Lids

Yup, I have a shortage of them.  This is my problem!

You see, I haven't figured how best to store my "gladware" containers.  Do you store them with the lids on, or lids on one shelf, containers on the other?? I've tried both.  Lids on works for a few months, but then it turns into the above.  If I put the lids on another shelf, I have the problem of not being able to find the right lid.

I'm really good about taking my lunch to work most days.  So I have gather quite the collection of containers.  LIDS, however have been my nemesis!  It never fails, I'll grab a container, carefully place my leftovers in and what, can't find a lid that fits! I generally find that I have more containers than I have lids... How does that happen.

Well, after Easter I found out how.  My mom and brother were cleaning up after dinner, while I was entertaining the kids with games.  My mom asked me if I would like some left over ham, of course!  So she packed the dish I passed and her lefts over.  I get home to find that she has put the ham in a container with NO LID!

Mystery solved...  Well, maybe part of it... I still think there might be a cabinet monster, you know like the dryer monster that eats only one sock...

Young at Heart

My last baby to introduce (even though she made an appearance when I wished her a Happy Birthday here).

Lolabean!  Bubbles! Nose!  Our five year old Doberman Pinscher! 


Bubbles



Nose

It's amazing that my now 90lb "lap-dog" was this big... Perhaps that is why she still thinks she is a lap-dog...


First night home



Lola learning the ropes from big sister Daisy



Before getting Lola, I didn't know a whole lot about this breed.  They are always represented in movies as the "Guard-Attack" dog.  But this breed has a bad rap.  They are the most gentle, loving, easy going, loyal, tolerant, dedicated and affectionate dogs I have come across.  She is a lover not a hater.

Just checking out the bird

Now, don't get me wrong, she has a mean bark, and if were aren't home I wouldn't suggest walking in, but if we are around she will hide behind us.  You could see it in her eyes when she was a puppy, she is always looking to us, is it OK. 

There is a dog in there, I promise

A trait I have now learned about this breed, is they always need to be touching you.  And if it's not you, it's someone else...  Now that she is 90lbs, we need to tell her to quit sitting on Daisy!

Lola gave Daisy a spunk when she came home with us five years ago today. And they have only grown closer!  Not only will it be a hard day for us when Daisy goes, but it will be especially hard on Lola.

But enough of that sad talk. We need to celebrate!  Maybe I need to give these girls an extra special treat after dinner tonight...

The Sliver Lining

Sometimes you just need to accept the fact that your babies are going to break things... 

But in this case I have beautiful centerpieces!

Here Kitty Kitty

Honey and Ziggy. 
My feline babies. We adopted them in June of 2004 when they were this big

Honey, my female with the little orange spot on her head.  And Ziggy is my male.  They were feral kittens, that were born near Hubby's grandpa's house.  It is hard to believe that they were mean little things when I look back at these pictures.  But it didn't take long for them to understand that we loved them and they loved us!

Proud big sister!



How little they were next to Daisy



The teenage years August 2004

All grown up!



Photo credit to Leigh Nestor



They are the best mousers, well OK, they've gotten a bird or two, a bunny and maybe even a mole.  They've earn their rent, that's for sure!  Ziggy, might think he is a dog though, I've never had a cat, when asked "whatta go outside" come to the door.  Honey, she is all cat, at cat like speed, come to the door on her own terms.  Funny, Hubby says Honey is his... Because she keeps herself clean and stays out of trouble.  Ziggy might be "mine" but he is smart and all boy!  (Plus he is our only boy baby, so I need ER visits for someone!)  Even if we have to shave him in the spring.  (Never again will I get a long hair cat!)  I don't care how cute they are with fuzzy hair when they are kittens, it's pretty hairy when they grow up!

P.S. Ziggy and I had a long talk about beating up Buddy, the new neighbor cat.  He meow and promised he won't do it again...

Soft Scrub S.O.S

A miracle worker???  I think so! 

Or maybe this guy? 

They both are!  They both do the bulk of the work when it comes to deep clean scrubbing.  As you remember a couple weeks ago, I got the bug to start cleaning.  Well that really has turned into a couple small jobs a month.  It actually started after I cooked a pork tenderloin in my corning ware and the pan was in my sink for week because I couldn't get it clean.  That is when Soft Scrub came out of his deep dark hiding place in my cleaning cabinet.  And also the time I remember the wonders of this cleaning tool!  That bottle didn't last long.  After the pan, I cleaned my kitchen stainless steel sink, I think I can see my reflection in it now.  Then I moved on to the bathrooms.  Living with well water can sometimes leave hard water stains.  So I had 2 tests for this new found friend. One quite challenging the other not so much.  Well he passed one, but not the other... 

Test one

                                               before                                              after

The sink!  Isn't she pretty!  I put a dab right on the rust color spot and let it sit.  When I got done cleaning the rest of the bathroom, I scrub a bit and there you have it! A pretty little shiny sink.  It did take some elbow grease to get in between the drain, but she looks brand new!

Test 2

Well no pictures of this one.  Well, because it failed and I'm to embarrassed to show you my shower...  We had a rust problem some seven or eight years ago that did quite the number on my fiberglass shower.  And it looks awful, and I mean awful!  I have tried everything on it to get the rust off.  Sno-bol worked (the toilet cleaner), but I think after using it (to many times) took any protective finish off and now is stain worse then ever!  Unfortunately Soft Scrub didn't help me there, I haven't found anything that has, but it was worth the test. 

Now S.O.S pads are a great invention when it comes to the hard scrubbing jobs.  Like the oven...  Which reminds me, I really need to clean that bad boy!  But I just used one of these guys on my dog bowls.  Not sure if I'm crazy or what, but Daisy has weird saliva.  It's slimy, which in turns make things she licks really hard to clean...  It's like she leave a film on her dish.  Any who, the S.O.S pad made it a breeze to clean, it was like rising off a dish, that easy. 

So there you have it, some lazy man tools for deep cleaning needs.



Whimsical

To the Mitten Kittens, Whimsical is the town we will all live in one day.  Where none of us have to work, expect for the work that needs to run our lives and keep our friends and family healthy and well.  A place where we all live on our own particular street, not states away.  A place where the teachers in our group teach our young, the nurses in our group nurse us, the fun loving serve the beer, the laborers fix our homes, and the green thumbs grow our food.

Well, in my small corner of the world, Whimsical is becoming more of a reality than a dream.  I'm the only Mitten Kitten that never lived outside of our small, sweet town.  Of course I did go off to college and live in the world of dorm life and renting a college apartment, but that was short lived.  Now that we are in our hmm, thirties, (OK, maybe we are in our twenties with five to seven years of experience, yea, that's it) starting our own families, this place, I call home, is a great place to raise those families.

Not sure when it happen actually, but I just looked out my window and notice how us nine girls were slowly moving HOME.  Our group has moved to Florida to follow a career, to Nashville to find love, to Northern Michigan to find love and a career, to Texas to follow a husband's family business, or just stayed put in that west college town.

As of now two of us are actually currently residing in "Whimsical", but that will soon double to FOUR!  Leigh moved last spring, renovated an older home right downtown to look like the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog. Tracey is currently renovating an old farm house with loads of land, with a joke from all of us that it will one day be a "funny farm".  And our newest neighbor, Lisa, (and I mean that in more then one since), will be moving home this weekend!  And she will literally be my neighbor. 

Now I've never really had a neighbor.  I live in the country, so my idea of neighbors was someone I had to use binoculars to spy on.  Well, OK, I will still have to use them, (just joking, Lisa, sorta).  But this neighbor is a bestie!  With a grass path right to her front door! How much better of a neighbor is that. 

So this saying I found on Pinterest, couldn't be more true.  Shit, in the dead of winter I will be wishing that we had a tunnel system, instead of our grass snow path.  And if only Leigh and Tracey were on the other sides of us.  Then, only the other five need to move closer home.  Whimmy would be here!  Because everyone knows, Home is where the heart is!

To Give

What is one thing that you can give to someone that is material in a since, but could save a life?  That doesn't cost more than an hour of your time?

That's right, a pint of blood.  Did you know that 1 pint of blood can save up to 3 lives!  Or that every two second someone in the U.S. needs blood.  Or that less than 38% of the U.S. population is eligible to give blood.  The most requested blood type by hospitals is Type O, this blood type is used for emergencies cases before the blood type is known and for newborns.  O-Negative is the universal blood type, meaning that it can be given to people of all blood types.  Only 3% of people in the U.S. are type AB-positive, the most rare blood type, however they are the universal donor of plasma, which is used in emergencies, newborns and patients that are required massive transfusions.  AB blood type can receive from all other types of blood.

What is plasma, whole blood, platelets? 

Whole Blood is just like it sounds, all of it.  It is the red cells, white cells, plasma and platelets.

Plasma? That is the fluid that surrounds the red cells, white cells and platelets.

Platelets? This is the cell fragment in the blood whose main function is to interact with clotting proteins and stop or prevent bleeding.

How did I start giving blood.  Well, I guess I would have to say that my parents did, so that influence me to as well.  My mom has O-negative, so she is quite popular with the Red Cross.  Me on the other hand, I have B-positive, so they like me, but I'm not as popular.  I started giving in high school at the age of 17.  To date I have donated over 35 pints of blood.  How many pints are in a gallon you ask?  8 pints equal a gallon. So if you do the math, I have given almost 5 gallons of blood.  WOW!  That sure sounds like a lot!

This month is Red Cross Month.  So if you are eligible to donate, go to the American Red Cross website and find a blood drive near you and give someone the selfless gift of blood.

"The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood"

An Oldie but a Goodie

This girl right here

This is Daisy.  She is 13th (wow a teenager!) She is a lab mix (mixed with Pit Bull and Rottweiler).  And this is one of her favorite positions.  You see all that gray around her muzzle?  Yea, that wasn't there 5 years ago.  This is normally the position that she gets into when kids come over.  She loves her belly rubbed! 
Not sure who I should credit training her, but she is the BEST dog ever, if we could clone personalities, I would have her cloned in a heart beat.  She walks right next to you without a leash, (well she used to, she's a bit slow nowadays)  She is gentle with children, listens well and was an excellent hunter.  (I use was, because she can't quite run like she used to.) A trick that Hubby taught her was to speak for a treat.  Well now that she is older.  She thinks if she speaks she should get a treat ALL the time!  She has trained quite a few of our guest.  When they walk into our house she immediately barks (speaks).  And in turn more times then not, she gets a treat.  I think most feel bad for the old lady, but she is tricking all of them!  I know her tricks!

Like all labs, she loves the water. 

Smiling!  Fun loving she is. And I love that (as a good friend said) she still has that sparkle in her eyes.  It might be harder for her to go up and down the stairs, but she just loves to be with you! Heres to a many more great days with you girl! 

Five

Happy Birthday Lola!  You were the best wedding gift that we could have given each other!  I love our daily walks and nightly snuggles!  To many many more birthdays. 

The Bug

The cleaning bug that is!  I blame it on the unseasonably warm weather.  Or maybe it's just my dirty house... But something has sprung me into a cleaning and organizing fool (sorta)!

I only took crappy pictures of my first project that got this all started

This is the side of my kitchen that you don't see when you walk in.  It is hidden behind the fridge and I felt that the microwave helped "hide" the mess.  Well that so wasn't the case.  See after:

Wow!  Who knew I had a mini bar!  It sure helped that I got rid of the clutter!  I had an espresso maker in the corner that didn't even work! Much better and even more functional. A double yea!

What else have I done... The basement was a mess with all the holiday decor out.  Plus my mom and I were making memorial blankets for a local nursery and we had a lot of supplies left over after the season.  So I bought some plastic totes and organized everything which then lead me into reorganizing my storage area to house all my new crafty supplies.  It was amazing how much bigger my basement became!

And the last and least noticeable one was I cleaned a cabinet out.  Yup, only one.  But it was better than none.  I really need to tackle the bathroom cabinets! 

I know nothing to exciting.  But that is really how I roll, lol!  Next up, I really need to clean my windows! But I really don't do windows...  I almost feel it's pointless to clean my windows with my 2 doggies that like to snot all over them...  But a couple times a year, I guess its a must...

A Great Investment

These

How could I never own a pair of these?  HOW? These are the best invention ever! Especially if you have 2 dogs that need a walk everyday, and you have a long driveway that is very very very muddy. 

How could this country girl never own a pair!  I have lived at our house for over 10 years.  And have walked down our long driveway in the snow, rain, and sunshine.

See that stop sign...  I walk down the hill to the mailbox everyday.  However this picture is from a beautiful sunny day.  Currently my drive is one big mud puddle, because Old Man Winter must of lost track of time or he is getting so old that he forgot that winter was supposed to happen in the months of January and February.  I have a funny feeling that we will be regretting these unseasonable warm days and will pay for it in March and April.  Bah humbug! What, wrong season?  Well, go tell that to Old Man Winter!

Just look around

On my daily walk to the mailbox with the doggies.  I notice this guy!

I love when I look in the snow covered weeds and see a tree that has made it!  Not sure when he was planted, but after further examination, he is a healthy little guy!  I think this one will make it! (Sorry, got excited when I saw him and had to tell the blog, hehehe)

I took the above picture yesterday January 30th.  Today January 31st, it is currently 52 degrees.  This has been one winter to put in the history books folks.  We normally have a January thaw, but this year, it snows on the weekends and melts during the week.  (Can't complain it has been great for weekend sledding fun!)

Cheese Bug

I thought I should share the gifts we made for our Homemade Hometown Christmas back in December, (now that it's the end of January...) If you don't mind, I will toot my own horn, they are pretty cool!  I have had friends say they want me (Hubby) to make them one!  And when I say Hubby, well, he put a lot of labor into making mine!  It was my idea, but with all the tools out to do it, he found the inspiration.

First up - The Cheesehead. This is the gift that Hubby made for our good friend, Aaron.  He has family that lives near Green Bay, so he loves Spotted Cow beer and them Cheeseheads (And yes, he is pretty upset about the Packers lost last weekend).  Since we don't know how to brew beer, we choose the simpler of the 2 loves.  A Cheesehead!

Not sure if I should be called a bad blogger or just inexperienced, because I don't have pictures of how these gifts were made, shit, I didn't even take a picture of the final product, I took this picture off of Facebook.  (Thanks Leigh!)

How was it made?  It is made out of Styrofoam packaging from an old computer box I had in our storage area.  Hubby shaved it into the shape of the cheesehead. Then we hot glued a baseball hat to the inside and spray painted.  And there you have it!  I must admitted he looks pretty good in it!

The Gift I made...
First, I would like to mention my first idea failed!  I wanted to make this...

A tiki torch wine bottle. I drew, Sarah, and she pinned it!  Her and I and a couple other friends had went on a wine tasting trip the year before. It just seemed like the prefect gift!  So, not totally reading the directions, I based my torch on - first - color and then on wine brand.  I wanted blue like in the picture and the winery that we had visited had a beautiful blue bottle, YAY!  Meant to be, right! Well long story short, the wine neck wasn't right, and I couldn't find the correct size copper pieces to fit inside.  So when Hubby and I tried to make them, we kept breaking the bottles...

So plan B.  (With only 4 days til the party!  Talk about pressure!) But, I had an idea all ready in motion! During the fall I saw in a magazine these really cool recycled bowling ball garden Ladybugs.  So, while out to lunch with a friend that loves bowling, I asked if she had some old bowling balls she didn't want any more.  She looked at me weird and said, "Sure, please take these heavy, awkward things I don't have any where to store!"  So would you believe I already had them in my trunk before plan A failed...  Maybe this was more meant to be...

And here is one of the final products!

This one is actually mine. My bowling friend game me 3, if I was going to go through all this trouble to make one... and I had 3 balls, well I was going to make them all at once!  Which is cool, my garden got a little Christmas gift this year too!

What did we get in return...  Funny, Hubby and Aaron drew each others names.  He made Hubby a calendar of our group's annual canoeing trip.

"Because sometimes you wish the best weekend of the summer could last all year long."

Yes, it says Canudists... Inside joke, we really don't canoe nude! 

And his lovely bride drew my name.  Stefanie is the knitter of the group.  She made me these.

Which are awesome!  These are the best dish towels ever!  They are soft, however, they are tough enough to scrub the pots and pans!  Love them!  (She made me 4, however one was in use, surprised I had these 3 clean!)

It was a great night, with a lot of creative ideas!  It turned out great. I'm pretty sure the census was to make our gifts next year.  I better get to thinking...  I think I have set the bar high!

Moving to Digital

So I realized I no longer lived in 1982.  Well I guess that would be the era of cassette tapes (Which I do still own too many of, and I don't even have a way to listen to them, hmm, is that a sign that I have a hoarder complex??)  But I currently do live in the world of CDs.  My hubby and I finally made the plunge and bought an iPod.

What was the motivation to jump into the world of digital?  Well our new car and our road trip to Florida. Our car now has the techonology to accept this new toy.  And what road trip is without jams for 18 plus hours of highway driving!

So what have I been up to?  Converting our CD collection in to a digital collection.  The first night of owning  our new toy...  I spent 4 hours and download 50 albums!   I'm kind of excited to see how many albums we have...  It will be interesting, I can't wait to pull some old school cds out of the closet!   I'll have to update with a total of albums and hours it took.

Next on list of techonolgy advance toys would be a camera.  Currently all we have are our phones. (Hence the quailty of the pictures taken/posted on this here blog).  However, hubby isn't on the same plan.  Time will tell!