And so it begins........

and so the quest to get our home in 'sale' able order begins.....DH has stripped the wall paper from he bathroom walls....and I spent a good part of the morning taping it all up....so he can paint it...we are now thinking to buy some land up in Wisconsin and build our own home....this should be fun....NOT......LOL.......I foresee many arguements about exactly how to build and what to build in our future..although...we do seem to be in agreement on the layout of the house we want....

Isn't She Just the Cutest Thing???

Christmas Updates

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas....ours was nice....we went to Mass on Christmas Eve...Our whole family except for Brandon our Oldest is in the Choir...we are lucky to get Brnadon to come to church with us on Special Days........so we all sang except for Nate who just plays flute...we had a little program

before Mass which turned out really well....we got a LOT of compliments..

Then afterwards we went over to our good friends the V's for a Christmas Eve party.....Brad was adamant that we weren't going to stay very long...he didn't want to be there 'all

night" ...well..................they had Karaoke....and I had to DRAG him out of there at 12:30.......I still had a few gifts to wrap and stockings to stuff......needless to say I was up until about 3:00am......

we got up around 7:00am to do gifts.....and then off the Church for Christmas Day Mass....it was just Brad and I and the girls for choir...

and then came home to make my Christmas Dinner...

.I decided not to go overboard this year....it just gets to b e too much....and you can't eat it all anyway....so we had

Ham

Mashed Potatoes

Candied Yams

Corn

and

Tortiere( meat pie)

I had bought two pies for dessert Pumpkin and Pecan...and I made a batch of Peanut Butter Kiss cookies and two loaves of Pumkin Bread

Merry Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and there is still so much that needs to be done.....I need to finish wrapping gifts....make some pumkin bread to take to a Christmas Eve party after church tonight...we have Mass at 7:00pm and then a nice couple from our church has invited a bunch of us to come over afterwards to celebrate all night....for dinner tonight we'll have Tortiere....it's a traditional French dish that my family used to make every Christmas..it's basically a "meat" pie....I make it with ground hamburg, mixed with mashed potatoes and lots sage, thyme and cloves..and finally trying to get these ornaments finished in time for tonight...I've had the crochet done for a while but they need to be stiffened...I used to be able to use spray starch for that part but I've sprayed and sprayed and sprayed them with EXTRA strength starch even...and they just aren't stiffening....so I've mixed some glue with water and saturated them...hopfully they will dry by this evening....if not I'll have to take a blow dryer to them...sooo how are you spending your day and night?

From Russia with Love....

Got another Surprise package yesterday!!

I'm not sure if I ever blogged about the Young Russian girl we took in a few years ago? Her name was Olga....and she had come over to the states on some kind of Work Exchange program? Basically they are brought over and provided with a job and supposedly a place to stay.... this girl was told she'd be working in Customer Servie for a Major Corporation( aka...cashier at Burger King in a Podunk NC town) her and three other girls were given a room in a supposed 'Bed and Breakfast" but it was more like just renting a bedroom in a house....they were then taken in by a co-worker at the Burger King and offered a room for a small fee( which was a no-no..since the co-worker lived in Military Housing and that is not allowed in Military Housing) Eventually two of the girls decided to go to Atlanta as Southern Chesapeake was not their idea of Hip , Happening American life...then the third girl arranged to go home a month early....the last girl was then told by the co-worker ( on a Wednesday) that she could no longer stay there and needed to be out by Friday! Yikes! ...in the meantime My son Nate had Befriended these girls early on on their stay....and so he came to us and asked if she could come stay with us......it was the best decision we ever made..and I wish I had known of her situation earlier as I'd have invited her to stay then and not ever charged her....having her here for that one Month was a great experience for us all and we grew to love her as one of our own in the short month that she was with us...her excitement at being in America and learning American customs was endearing...we treated her as one fo the family...a valued guest..and she was surprised at that..( I guess the other family didn't treat her well) Most evenings after she came home from work we would make tea and we would sit at the kitchen table and just talk for hours..she would tell me about her life in Russia and ask me tons of questions about American culture...Anyway ...we have kept in touch spordically thru the last few years since she went back home...she even called back in April...when she heard of the Va Tech shootings...as she knew one of my daughters attended there....it was soo good to talk to her...and she was soooo excited to be talking to me...it was cute...LOL......

soooo yesterday a package came out of the blue from Russia....oh how exciting...you had to be here....I nearly did somersaults...LOL....my girls thought I was NUTS...LOL...I think it's the most exciting gift of the year!! so here's is all she sent....

These are small little leather boxes ...they had jewelry in them....necklaces and earings....I kept one set for myself and let the girls each have the other set...one took the earings and the other the necklace...

These are Russian Cigarettes....she sent them for Nate who used to smoke....he recently quit...Halleluia!! I hope this doesn't tempt him to start again...he took a few packages with him last night to 'give' to friends...they are kinda cool looking though....with the Russian packaging and all....

The 'water" bottle as she called it....is for Brad....I think this will go well with all of his Navy memorabilia.....LOL

And Most importantly Authentic Russian Vodka......last time she tried to send us some it didn't quite make it....LOL....I guess it slipped thru customs this time..LOL

also seen in the picture above..are two colorful boxes filled with Russian Chocolates and Candies....a set of Postcards showing Russian landmarks...a package of Russian playing cards...the Jewelry that came in the cute leather boxes...two little adress booklets....and a really pretty Shawl... because although I live in a 'southern state" it is raining sometimes and a shawl is necessary :)

WWCS!!!

I've been so bad about this whole Coffee Swap thing...not updating my blog and participating in the contest posts......I recieved a package though.....from my WWCS Pal.....look at all the loot she sent....WOW ....Thank YOU sooo much to the bestest Pal in the world!!!

Merry Christmas!

Here is Our Christmas Picture for this year....it took a while to get it as Rachel decided to go to SC( boyfriend) for a while before coming home for Winter Break.....

And one of Britt with Josh....Britt did NOT want to take these pics as it was late and she was 'tired' and wanted to go to bed...but it was the first chance I had to get a picture with all four of my kids.....LOL

Gone Missing Again

Sorry......I keep falling behind in my blogging.....there's been so much going on this winter.....and I ahve quite a few updates to make....where to start...well Britt performed as Shulie In her school's production of School House Rock , Jr. It was such an awesome show....and she really did a good job....she was so cute up there....unfortunately we weren't allowed to tape or take pictures during the show...but I have this one picture of her dressed up as Shulie with her boyfriend Josh ( as Tom)

I flew my mom up to attend the performance....we actually flew her in a few weeks earlier so she could spend Thanksgiving with us as well...Thanksgiving was really nice...my Mom was with us..Rachel was home from College....and Josh had dinner with us as well...as his father was Deployed and his mother was in Tennesee with his Grandfather who is very ill...My Mother was here for 3 weeks which is the main reason I've been MIA...I really couldn't get online much with her here.....I will be flying her back in May so that she can see Britt's performance in The Sound of Music.....as MARIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!! She got the part of Maria....she is sooooooo excited....although looking at her script it is quite daunting.....pages on pages of songs and dialogue..LOL.....it's going to be AWESOME!! I am soooo proud of her......

In other news...it looks like we've made the decision to move up to Wisonsin! We've already had a realtor in....we plan to put our house on the market in April...Brad is already starting to make it 'sale' worthy....the white paint has been bought...I told him he better be SURE if he's painting my colorful walls white.....because once that white paint goes up I'm moving!! Whether it's to a house in WI or just another house here....we've been looking online and already have found a few homes we LOVE.....it's all so exciting!!! We figure if we sell our home here we could afford to buy a simlar home up there but with way more land....and still have money left over....Brad could retire/ retire....and not have to work again...we should be able to live off his Military Retirement if we don't have a mortgage to pay for....I'm not sure I can handle having him underfoot 24/7...but I really would like him to have the freedom to only 'work' if and when he wants...or just not 'work' if he wants...

Saturday Coffee

WWCS is really making me crave MORE coffee lately...LOL.....for Breakfast this morning I had a piece of yummy Pumpkin Bread with my Coffee....these are my new "Fall" dishes by Tracy Porter....Unfortunately I've already chipped one of the matching bowls...ARGGG...I bought a set of Winter dishes from her line a couple of years ago and within a month or two half the pieces were chipped and it really pissed me off...I kept meaning to send her a note about it, but never got around to it....so far this set has held up MUCH better...I really like her stuff... but it chips WAY too easy IMO....don't think I'll be buying anymore of her stuff....at least not her 'Target' ones...

and this afternoon I took a few minutes to relax with another cup and another piece....this is one of my favorite mugs...I like the little Roosters and the little flowers on the inside of the cup....these have a real 'french' flair to them....IMO

With the Holidays approaching I'm in 'crafty" mode....I have a hankering to make socks again...I think this will be my "Holiday" gift for most of my family and friends....I found this half finished sock today while I was searching for my Crochet Socks Book.......I started it AGES ago....I mean like 8 or 9 years ago....BEFORE blogs were the BIG thing and you could read all about bloggers making socks for things like Secret Sock Swaps , Sockapaloozas, Socktoberfests, and such.......LOL....I never finished them because I didn't like how they were crocheting up and I gave up on them ...but now that I am a Crocheted Sock expert( after Summer of Socks LAST year...I WON BTW)I am frogging it and will start another pair.

and Look what else I accomplished today.....This is what I fondly refer to as the Teen Hang Out Room....there's an ancient VCR for watching all those OLD Disney movies.....and there's a couple of gaming systems and video games...these days Dance Dance Revolutions and Sing Star get the most "play' time.... I can pretty much guarantee that it will look like the 'before' pic again before the week is done..LOL

Before:

After:

All Souls Day

Today was All Souls Day...a day to remember all those who have passed before us...I've lost quite a few relatives thru the years...All of my grandparents have passed...My paternal Grandfather died when I was Six..both of my grandmothers died of Cancer when I was in my teens...My maternal Grandfather died about 10 years ago , I think...I was not close to him as he left my grandmother when my mother was a child...My cousin Donald died on my 10th Birthday...he was hit by a Drunk Driver on his way home from school... it was a Hit and Run but luckily they found the guy quickly and he was convicted...that was a difficult one for me...I still have a hard time enjoying my Birthday sometimes...I've also lost a few Aunts and Uncles in the last few years....On Thanksgiving Day 2003 my husbands Step Father passed away ...and then during Spring Break of 2005 my Nephew Tony was killed in a freak accident...he was only 19 years old..the same age as one of my sons...and finally on Holy Thursday of last year my Brother was killed in a horrible trucking accident...you can read the story here ....his has been the most difficult so far....I still can't believe he's truly gone.

WWCS Topic of the Week

Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap is having a Contest each Friday...where we post about a specific Topic each week

This weeks topic is:

When did you first start drinking coffee? What age were you? Was it about the caffeine, or do you love the taste and smell? Tell us how your passion began!

The first time I had coffee I was probably about 10 years old....My father always drank coffee...like ALL day....he always had a cigarette or a cup of coffee in his hands or sometimes both...and he always drank Tasters Choice instant coffee ...he kept hot water in a huge percolator....I would often 'make' him some coffee...when I was about 10 , he would sometimes let me make a cup for myself...as a special treat...that is when my love of Coffee began....I really just LOVE the taste and smell....the caffeine never really does anything for me....I can drink a cup late at night right before bed and it doesn't affect me...thru the years I've graduated to brewed coffee and when we moved to the Puget Sound area in WA state I fell in love with Lattes....this was in the beginning of the Starbucks Craze.....in WA you could get Cappuccino, Expressos, and Lattes at McDonalds...and there was an Expresso shop on every corner...and small drive thru Coffee Shops everywhere....Raspberry Lattes are my favorite....but I still have a soft spot for Tasters Choice Instant Coffee...it's what I'm drinking tonight with a slice of freshly baked Pumpkin Bread...

Mmmmm.Pumpkin Bread

Feeling very Domestic today....DH was supposed to leave this morning for a VERY SHORT deployment but due to the weather ( high winds, stormy) the deployment has been delayed until further notice...so DH came home and we spent a nice cozy day at home....it was just one of those days where I felt like baking....blustery and chilly....

Ignore the dirty Broiler pan please!!!

All Saints

Today was All Saints day and a Holy Day of Obligation for us Catholics....so we had Mass tonight...it was really special and the Homily really made me think about what kind of Person and Christian I want to be...how I want to live my life...how I want to dedicate my life to God

WFD Thursday

So tonight I decided to try this Pampered Chef Recipe..oh my was it GOOOOOOOD!!

Porkchops stuffed with Cornbread Stuffing....

You use thick boneless chops and cut a pocket in each one.....you then mix a cornbread stuffing mix with onions ,celery, and dried cranberries....stuff the chops ...use toothpics to keep them closed.....put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish.....you then brown the chops for about 2 minutes on each side...then place them in the casserole on top of the stuffing and bake covered for about 40 mintues.....at that point you heat up some Orange Marmalade in the microwave ...remove the cover and glaze each chop with the Marmalade...and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.....I also made Ginger Carrots to go with....( just canned carrots boiled with brown sugar and ground ginger) it was all just sooooo delish...I felt like a "Top Chef" tonight..LOL

Handmade Holidays

Come join the fun over at Sew,Mama,Sew! They'll be featuring 30 days of Handmade Gifts for the Holidays! It started today , November 1st. Today's tutorial was Aprons....

Catholics ARE Christians

There seems to be a bit of Catholic Bashing going on in blogland again...does it ever stop? Why do they do it? are they threatened by us?? FTR Catholics DO read the Bible...they DO believe in Jesus Christ and that he is our Saviour...We don't worship Mary....we respect and honor her as one SHOULD the Mother of Christ...but we do not worship her....there are soo many misconceptions out there about Catholicism and sooo many who are quick to believe the lies that are told about us...it's sad really...

Pay it Forward

This seems like a such a fun concept ..so I figured what the hey...sign up for this one too....I'm such a 'joiner" today....LOL

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I've actually signed up under two bloggers Noricum over at the Soapbox
and Kath over at Message in a Bottle

I haven't heard back yet wether I'm 'in'...but I only just now asked so it may take them a while to get back to me... I figured I may as well post about it now.....

Joined a Swap

I've joined a new swap...


Deadline is tomorrow..so head over quick if you'd like to join too!!!


Here is my questionaire for my coffee buddy:

Coffee

What are your favorite kinds of coffee?I love all kinds so surprise me

Do you prefer whole bean or ground coffee?ground( I don't have a grinder)

This time of year, there are often Holiday Blends available, and many flavored coffees - do you drink flavored coffee?yes ..i do

Do you enjoy special blends?sure
How do you take your coffee? Cream and Sugar? Straight up? Decaf?No to decaf....and I like a little coffe with my cream and sugar..LOL..I'm basically a Cafe au Lait type girl

Do you prefer drinking from a nice thick mug, or a matched cup and saucer?I like nice thick mugs

Winter and Holidays - PLEASE be descriptive! Your pal will need this information to be sure to put together a package you will enjoy!

What is your favorite part of Winter?cooler weather...being able to snuggle up on sweaters and cozy blankets

Do you celebrate a holiday in December, and if so, which holiday?yes, Christmas

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree?yes...usually we get a real tree...but last year we got a really nice fake one..because DH was deployed and I didn't want to mess with a real one on my own......not sure what we'll use this year since DH is home...

Would you enjoy items related to the holiday, or would you prefer a Winter themed package? Holiday items are fine..either way I'm flexible

Do you collect anything?Yes...I have several collections....lately I'm on a bird kick...mainly bluebirds and peacocks........also vintage pyrex...yarn of course...LOL

Are there any holiday or winter-themed items (Snowmen, Angels, Snoflakes, Santas, etc) that you collect?I have a few holiday collections.....Santa's , Trees, and snowmen....and I've also been collecting the Lemax Holiday Village Houses and accesories...

Do you wear scarves? Mittens? Hats? Not too often ...it doesn't really get that cold here...I occasionally will wear a scarf..

What is your favorite holiday or winter treat?Hmmnn favorite?? not sure....drinking hot coffee or cocoa on chilly days and evenings...baking holiday cookies ...gingerbread houses...decorating for Christmas...going to parties..

Please share a favorite Winter or Holiday memory.I can't really think of an especially fond memory....I do remember one year 'Santa" came to our house....it was my uncle dressed up as Santa in the most Tacky plastic( yes i said plastic...like garbage bag plastic but in red and white) Santa Suit....and a really tacky cotton ball type beard....it didn't help that he was about the skinniest man alive....LOL.....I knew right away who it was...I was about 7....My mom and Aunt kept saying it was Santa and I kept arguing that NO it wasn't, it was Uncle Louis!!! It really irritated me that they kept insisting that is was Santa when I KNEW it wasn't.....I guess they were trying to not ruin it for the younger kids who were were more gullible that I...LOL


Yarn and Crafting
Do you Knit or Crochet? both ..but mostly crochet

For how long?since I was a little girl....I learned to Crochet when I was about 6..I learned in Brownies to make a chain....my mom got tired of me making endless chains so she taught be the other stitches....so then I started making scarves and blankets...as I got older my grandmother taught me some of the more intricate stitches...

Do you like wooden, metal, or plastic needles\hooks? Circular or straight?I like all kinds...I am a little particular about my crochet hooks....I don't like the ones that seem to be 'flat" in the 'hook" area.....I like the more 'curved" hook...not sure if I'm explaining it properly...there's one brand that seems to make the 'flat' hook..but can never remember which one it is...

What sort of projects do you enjoy making?What are your favorite types of yarn to work with?I enjoy making all kinds of things.....I use all kinds of yarns...I am mostly into the natural fibers these days.....trying to get out of acrylics......I also do a lot of thread crochet...

Do you spin or dye?No...I've tried spinning and was interested in dyeing..but I really don't think I have the patience for it...

Do you do other crafts such as scrapbooking or needlepoint or anything else?Yes, I scrapbook a little...and I do CrossStitch...lately I am into French patterns that I find on French blogs...

General

When is your birthday?April 9th, 1965

Do you have any children? (Furry kind count!)Yes.. I have 4 kids ..they are mostly grown ..my baby is Graduating HS this year.....I also have a cat....

What are your favorite colors?I'm really into blues lately...and right now I'm very into fall colors ...oranges and reds and browns...black and white too...

Do you have any allergies?nope

Senior Pics

We got Britts pics in recently ...I've finally scanned them so I can post them......we did Glamour Shots.....she had sooo much fun...they did a small 'makeover"...but we asked for minimal makeup...we wanted Britt to look like Britt...not some completely different person...we were very happy with the results...she felt beautiful and had so much fun with the photographer....