The Life of Vicki & Noel

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

2009-07-03T10:07:00.003-04:00

Wishing everyone a very safe and enjoyable holiday weekend. Spend time with family, enjoy some wondeful food, but most of all, please remember the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our independence.

Yard Sale Season!!!

2009-06-08T18:34:00.006-04:00

Yard sale season is in full swing in Pennsylvania! This past weekend, we toured two separate community yard sale sights and came home with loads of treasures! Here's two of my favorites:

The first is an antique mini ironing board on an iron base. It is fabulous! The second is a 50" round marble table with an oak base. I seriously can't stop looking at it! I highly recommend yard sale-ing to everyone. You just never know what you'll find!

Happy Birthday Noel!

2009-05-25T11:38:00.015-04:00

Today is Noel's birthday, but we held the annual bash yesterday. He shares his birthday with his mother, who turns 83 this year. All of his siblings were here, traveling from South Carolina, Erie and western PA. Noel had a great weekend filled with making new memories with his family. His mom got to see both of her great-grandchildren together for the first time and even the weather cooperated with the exception of a brief storm that traveled through. Here's a few pictures from the gathering:

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband, with wishes of many, many more. I love you.

Prom Night

2009-05-16T19:49:00.004-04:00

Tonight, Kelsey attended her junior-year prom. She looked fabulous in royal blue while her boyfriend Allen made a very handsome escort. She fully coordinated everything this year and

did a wonderful job! I hope it's a very memorable experience for her.

Our Mother's Day Tradition

2009-05-15T17:05:00.014-04:00

A little late to post, but better late than never! Mom came to our house to participate in our Mother's Day tradition, which is ice cream sundaes for dinner. No waiting until you eat your dinner to have dessert...dessert IS dinner! Here's some of our pics:

They were soooo good! We added hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream...the works! Hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day as much as we did!

She Did It...First Try!

2009-05-02T11:14:00.003-04:00

Kelsey got her driver's license yesterday, first time testing. She is on cloud nine. I am a mess. I had a mommy-meltdown over lunch as I mentally reviewed her growing up. I remembered everything from the first time she sat up on her own, the first time she walked up the street to visit her friend, right up to that very day...the first time she drove away from me. I am so very proud of her yet so very scared for her at the same time. I know deep in my heart of hearts that she'll be ok, I'll just have to muddle through the sleepless nights and the constant status-check phone calls to convince myself on a daily basis. How does 17 years go so stinking fast?

Double Whammy Sick Day

2009-04-29T10:59:00.002-04:00

I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this afternoon, so scheduled to be off of work from lunch on...

Last night, both Kelsey and Alex were complaining about not feeling well, sore throats, congestion, you know the drill. Kelsey had herself convinced she has the swine flu, so we had to look up the symptoms online to convince her that she was not struck with the dreaded disease. (She's still not convinced).

Both girls had to be in school today for PSSA testing, so filled with cold and cough medicine...out the door they go. Wasn't long before the first text message is received "Mom can you pleeeeaaasseee pick me up after PSSA's". Needless to say...off to the school I go and both girls were home and back in bed by 10:00 this morning.

They were given strict instructions to keep their boogied-up tissues to themselves and to cough only in their own sleeves. I soooo don't want it!

First Mowing Day of the Season...

2009-04-26T18:34:00.003-04:00

Today we officially cut all of the grass at the farm for the first time of the season. This is a picture of the "front yard". It takes one person 5 to 6 hours to cut all of the grass. What a chore! Plus, it was 90 degrees today. Summer showed up full force out of nowhere for a bit!

Then Noel put up two birdhouses right outside of my computer room so I can birdwatch while I work. It is National Bird Day today...so do something nice for our feathered friends!

Sadie gaurded the area for intruders.

Busy Week!

2009-04-18T10:26:00.003-04:00

Work was crazy, our schedules were hectic and we were very glad for the weekend to get here! Friday night consisted of Kelsey's final prom dress fitting and then off to a charity basketball tournament. Allan played in the tournament, so we were there to cheer him on. Unfortunately, his team lost their first game, but we're hoping they win today. Now, how in the world did they lose with form like this?

That's ok, we'll get 'em next time!

Kutztown

2009-04-10T18:40:00.002-04:00

Well, like I said...off to Kutztown University today to check it out! It's my Alma Mater, so it was a day full of memories for me. Allen went with us and we enjoyed a lovely day walking around campus and poking our heads into the Student Union, etc. Lunch on the way home was yummy too!

Birthday Girl!

2009-04-05T22:30:00.002-04:00

So Kelsey turned seventeen yesterday. How in the world did that happen? In one year, she will be an adult. I truly can't believe it. I am very proud of her and the fine young lady she has become. We are starting our college tours on Friday. Wow. Before I know it, she'll be out on her own. I miss her already.

The Wiz!!

2009-04-03T23:23:00.005-04:00

Tonight was opening night for Shamokin Area High School's "The Wiz". Alex played several parts, including a munchkin. All of the kids did such a great job and put on a terrific show! Here's a few pictures:

It really was so much fun!

Spring Cleaning For Sadie

2009-03-29T19:36:00.003-04:00

Today was the day that Sadie had the winter grime washed off of her body. Trust me, she was not pleased and will probably snub me for quite awhile. But she smells so good and is so soft right now! Well worth the aggravation.

A Win This Week

2009-03-23T20:01:00.002-04:00

I won this prize pack from a blog site and am really excited about it! I love useful wins so much! I was notified of the win about a week ago and it arrived today. Very nice! Keep 'em coming!

Whew!!!

2009-03-20T22:03:00.002-04:00

Well, the stress is over. What is more than likely Kelsey's last tryout for cheerleading is over and she has made the varsity squad for her upcoming senior year. She is very excited and relieved all at once. We are very proud of her and look forward to another year of Shamokin Area High School football!

Old Forge Brewing Company

2009-03-14T23:03:00.005-04:00

Tonight we spent the evening with one of Noel's long-time friends Rob, and his wife Sonya. They recently moved to a nearby town after Rob retired from the military. We had dinner at a new restaurant, the Old Forge Brewing Company. It is a micro-brewery and pub-style restaurant. It was absolutely delicious! Probably the best food I've had in a long time. Here's some pictures from our outing:

We then went to Rob and Sonya's for a visit and tour of their lovely new home. It was a great evening all around and Noel and I are looking forward to doing it again.

PTAP

2009-03-11T20:55:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Noel and I presented at our PTAP program. PTAP stands for Parental Truancy Awareness Program. It's a program to help deter truancy and helps parents understand why kids are truanct and what can be done to prevent future truancy issues. The programs are held several times throughout the year at each school district within the county. I usually volunteer for at least two of the schools, but I especially like it when Noel gets a chance to join us. Tonight's meeting was pretty successful and when that happens, it makes me look forward to the next one. Remember...be cool...stay in school. :)

The Pop Concert

2009-03-06T19:51:00.004-05:00

This year, the band, orchestra and chorus performed together for one concert. It was a great show! Kelsey played in the band while Alex sang. Excellent performance, and I'd say that even if my kids weren't in it!

And So Our Weekend Winds Down...

2009-03-01T19:39:00.005-05:00

Well, here we are, Sunday night. We dropped off the boy that stayed with us for the weekend and I'm getting ready to pick Kelsey up from work. We will all be gathered at home for the night and will get a few more hours of relaxation in before the week hits us.

Last night, it was obvious that Sadie (our wonder-dog) is not used to being around young children anymore. She zonked out on the couch with Noel watching some bad movie marathon. Just look at her!!!

Today, after we took Kelsey to work, we headed to the playground (thought I was past the playground years!). Alex and her friend Jordan found themselves having fun as they were trying to amuse our little buddy.

So, here we are...ready for another week and whatever adventures it may hold.

He's Back!!!!

2009-02-28T16:56:00.003-05:00

The 10 year old boy that we foster every now and then for weekends returned to our home on Friday. He is seriously a ball of energy! Doesn't sit still for a minute. Anyway, today he enjoyed helping Noel chip some branches that were cut from the trees in our yard:

Of course, 20 minutes later, he was looking for something else to do, but still....

I Raised Two Geniuses!!

2009-02-24T22:12:00.003-05:00

Good news on the school front today. Kelsey reported in with a 99 on her psychology test in her dual enrollment psych class. Alex then came home with a whopping 100 on her trigonometry test. They must get their brains from....hmmmm...well anyway, they sure are smart kids!

Don't Freak...I Learned How To Make Meth Today

2009-02-20T18:39:00.005-05:00

I was at an awesome training for the last two days. I learned three different ways meth is made, what to look for on a search, side effects, etc. We even got to go through trash to see if there was any evidence:

One of the best trainings I've been to in a long time. Good stuff.

Holy Spring Fever!!!

2009-02-16T10:53:00.005-05:00

I don't know what happened to me over the weekend, but I have transformed into a lady with an organizing mission. I reorganized just about every closet or cupboard in the house! I'm a maniac! I dug into the surplus closet, the canning closet, both linen closets, all the food-catching cupboards in the kitchen and even the cupboard under the kitchen sink! Someone help me!

Look...I even organized the

canning spices...sheesh!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

2009-02-14T15:36:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Hope you all had a loved-filled day! Noel and I really don't celebrate Valentine's Day much anymore. We're pretty romantic throughout the year without dropping huge amounts of money on each other to prove it. (The kids tell us we're gross (ha ha). We used to do it all up, but with age comes wisdom! We celebrated by shopping together for a new kitchen faucet...got one we love too!

Kelsey, on the other hand, is having her first real Valentine's Day with her boyfriend Allen. (They just missed it last year) She is making him a dinner that includes his favorite foods (steak and ribs) and has set the table to perfection. He already surprised her with flowers before their official date time. One thing she did that is so adorable is she filled a jar with little pieces of red and white paper, each one holding a trait about Allen that she loves. She decorated the jar with the words "why I love you" and added a red and white ribbon. So cute. Here's the jar:

Ahhhh....young love.

Another Win!

2009-02-09T21:19:00.005-05:00

I was notified today that I won an assortment of Sambucol products, retail value of $45.00. We'll all be so healthy!

We had a really great moon tonight that I noticed on my way to pick up Alex from play practice. It was almost full and very hazy. Here's my view from in front of the high school:

Cool, huh?

Bye-Bye Weekend

2009-02-08T19:34:00.005-05:00

This weekend came and went very quickly! It was filled with very routine things, but some out-of-the-ordinary things too. First, Noel got up sick on Saturday, so count him out for anything. His plans to get some things done at the farm were a wash. Later on Saturday, we had a 16-year old girl stay with us through the foster agency. She and Alex got along very well, so they had a good time playing video games and watching movies. Kelsey worked all weekend, but was able to spend Friday night with some girlfriends. They went out to dinner, the mall and the bouncy-plex. (Jumping around in a room of trampolines for an hour). Me, I was perfectly content to spend most of my weekend at home. The only time I really left the house was to go to the grocery store and to pick Kelsey up at work.

I experimented in the kitchen and made some pretty good dishes. I organized the fridge and as always...the laundry. Blah. But overall, the weekend went well...and quickly! Here's some pics of my accomplishments:

Hope everyone has a great week!

Oh Yeah...And I Won This...

2009-02-04T19:44:00.003-05:00

Not the biggest win for sure, but I won a t-shirt from the people at Splenda. It's a great, big, comfy t-shirt so we'll now refer to it as my new night shirt. Thanks Splenda people!

She's All Grown Up

2009-02-04T19:13:00.004-05:00

Kelsey got a car. My stomach has been queezy since I picked up the car yesterday and brought it home. She immediately took us all to the pharmacy, donut shop, post office, etc. My only saving grace is that she still only has her permit for a few more months, but then...oh my! I HATE this! P.S. The "eye" in the backseat is her boyfriend Allen.

Look What I Won

2009-02-01T20:43:00.004-05:00

Was notified this weekend that I won this bag in an online giveaway. Can't wait to get it! It's going to be great for the spring!

Prom Dress Shopping

2009-01-31T17:49:00.005-05:00

Today, Kelsey and I traveled to Selinsgrove to shop for prom gowns. Apparently, it's all about how the gown looks from the back that matters. Silly me, I thought that you'd care about how you look from the front. Nah, it's all about the booty. Here's some of the gowns she tried on:

Can you guess which one she chose?

Me...Roller Skating...Uh Huh

2009-01-25T18:52:00.009-05:00

Last night, I accompanied my best friend and helped host her daughter's 7th birthday party. Off we go with five 7-year old girls to party hearty. First stop...Pizza Hut. Have you ever gone into a Pizza Hut on a Saturday night around 5pm. I suggest you don't. We had a little wait, but soon got seated at a table, surrounded by deafening loud talkers and screaming children. Add our five to the mix and whoa! Of course, during the lull between salad and waiting to be served our pizza, every one of them has to go to the bathroom. My friend takes them all to the one-unit potty while I wisely wait at the table, enjoying the 46 seconds of silence until the waitress brings our dinner. As I start serving the pizza slices, all the little girls come back to the table, one by one. About 5 minutes later, a "shot" is heard throughout the restaurant. Everyone in the place grows silent. All heads turn our way. Yes, it was one of our girls, playing with one of those firework poppers under the table. Sorry folks, false alarm, no drive-by here. The shooter breaks down into sobs under the hood of her coat.

Ok, let's get out of Pizza Hut...everyone gets a quarter on the way out to hit the machine that shoots out cheesy plastic rings that little girls love. Believe it or not, there wasn't that much fighting about who wanted which ring!

Off to the skating rink we go! Out of the five girls 1.5 of them can roller skate. We spent the first hour watching them all go around the kiddie rink, holding on to the railing for dear life. The first attempt for one of them to go to the big rink ended up with me getting a bag of ice from the snack bar to avoid the potential fat lip resulting from the head on collision with another skater. Back to the kiddie rink. My friend says "can you hold my bag, I'm going to get skates". Well, I'm not going to be the only one not skating! "Get me some too, will you?" Where did those words come from? Who said that? She comes back with men's skates because apparently all of the skaters this evening are wearing my size. I think they've been renting the same skates since I was in high school. Take a look at these beauties:

I have to say, when I was in high school and college, I was an excellent skater. Went skating every weekend, could do some tricks, you know...good skater! Fast forward to the year 2009. Not so good. It is not like riding a bike. I blame the skates, or my friend who picked the skates. It certainly can't be that I've lost "my groove" in the last 25 years or so, can it? As I waddle to the kiddie rink with my head held high, my best friend in the whole world takes my camera out of my purse and proceeds to capture the moment in eternity. Thank goodness, the majority of the pictures came out blurry due to our inability to figure out my new camera. There is one however that made it through...
Can someone please explain to me WHY I refer to her as my best friend? As the evening wears on, and I watch my friend sashay around the rink without a hitch, I am determined to get off of the kiddie rink and head over with all of the other big-girl skaters. I was so proud of myself when I left the rink after three loops with only a flushed face, sweaty armpits and a slight wheeze. That pride was soon swallowed when I grabbed my camera to get a pic of the girls, headed over to the sidelines and elegantly completed a half-twist, semi-somersaulted, slightly bowed tumble to the floor. Luckily I landed on my knee and not my camera.

Finally, the evening comes to an end. I remove my tacky, fashion-lacking men's skates to find a nice blistered area below my ankle. I hike up my jeans to assess the damage to my knee. Huh. Blue already. At least it's a pretty shade of blue. We gather up all of the little darlings, pile them into the SUV and head to my friend's house where I decline an invitation to go in and share in the slumber party festivities. On our way home however, I did point out to her that when I asked her to be my buddy for Kelsey's birthday outing, it included a weekend at the beach, sun-bathing and shopping. I politely explain that I'm thinking it's not real fair that all I came home with was a blister, a sore knee, some leftover popcorn and a little less dignity. She chuckled and got out of the car. Hmmm...off to dictionary.com to look up the meaning of "best friend".

Since When Did We Start Washing With Food?

2009-01-24T12:49:00.009-05:00

This is what I noticed today while taking a shower. I tend to get bored quite easily, so I was perusing the bottles for something to read when I realized that all but one of the products in our shower were either named after or claim to have some kind of food in them. Look...

So we have coconut, iced tea and choco-chip mint body washes, vanilla mint tea shampoo and apricot face scrubs and shaving cream. I thought that maybe it was just a coincidence, so I went to the linen closet to check the supplies. Nope, there was cucumber soap, apple shampoo and strawberry body wash to name a few. Is this just the trend, am I subconsciously drawn to food products or is it something that I'm just noticing? Things that make you go hmmmm....

Supporting Your Community

2009-01-24T10:05:00.005-05:00

Last night, Noel and I wandered over to the Northumberland County Career and Arts Center because a sign was posted outside that the "Art Show" was open. Once inside, we realized that the students from a local Catholic High School were the artists that had their work on display. There were drawings, watercolor paintings, photography, stained glass projects and other items set out for public view. Admission was free and you could provide a donation towards future art projects. It was so nice to see.

I like to participate in things that help our community, whether it be shopping at the local farmer's markets, donating at local food banks and homeless shelters, attending high school plays or purchasing yummy food at neighborhood block parties.

For instance, recently I was upset at the school board for our local high school. They had fired the football coach, who happens to be a graduate from the school with lots of experience, and hired someone from across the state, with a lot less experience. I'm sure they had their reasons for letting go the coach, that's their decision, but when you look for someone new, how about taking a peek in your own backyard. These are our neighbors folks, we should be looking out for them, especially in these difficult times.

My Day...

2009-01-23T18:26:00.003-05:00

Started early today because I had a kid in crisis to meet with from last night so...

My morning consisted of meeting with 6 different kids: a sex offender, a bike thief, a teenage girl that lives to smoke marijuana, an arsonist, a drug dealer and a car thief. You know what they all had in common? They are all kids that are pretty much looking for the same things. Acceptance, love, respect, confidence, structure, guidance and acknowledgement is all they're after.

Anyway, went out to lunch with my husband at the local Chinese buffet. Not bad, not great.

Meeting held at work this afternoon. We were informed that no matter what, it looks like they'll be cutting two employees. We won't know until the end of next week who will be losing their jobs.

In the meantime, got a few calls from the Foster Placement Agency...we were supposed to have a boy come and stay with us for the weekend, but that fell through. Then we were back-up for a seventeen year old girl who may or may not be placed for the weekend..she wasn't. We were then scheduled to take a sixteen year old girl in a few weeks for the night.

Emotional day...yep. Trying day...yep. Difficult day...yep. But when we all came together at home tonight, I got a kiss from Noel, Alex is having a blast playing Guitar Hero with a friend, Kelsey and Allen are making dinner and Sadie has finally recuperated from a difficult vet visit yesterday. Life is good.

My Other Blog...

2009-01-20T18:48:00.003-05:00

As most of you know, I am a penny-pinching, money-saving fanatic. I love me my bargains! Every day I would search the web, my email, etc for the best bargains that are posted and any money saving ideas I came across. Well, I ended up creating another blog to save all of the ideas, recipes, freebies, links and projects in one place. Plus, this way I can share with other blog readers. In today's economy, we can all use a helping hand in saving money! Anyway, if you'd like to take a peek...head on over to http://www.finefrugality.blogspot.com/ and take a peek.

Decluttering...

2009-01-19T16:44:00.003-05:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Freecycle rocks! Gathered all of these items and posted them to freecycle. Now, someone that can use it will come and take it all off of my front porch...that is so cool!

First I'd like to say that I am just ashamed at how much "stuff" we have accumulated in the 10 years we have lived in this house. It is one of my goals to go through each and every room, each and every dresser and closet and get rid of all the crap! I will feel so liberated! Now, the only problem...how do I stop myself and everyone else I live with from bringing more crap INTO the house?

Why Can't We Party Like It's 1999 Anymore?

2009-01-17T13:57:00.004-05:00

So last night we hosted a get-together of about 16 people, most of them were co-workers. Party started at 7:30. Last of the guests departed around 2:15 a.m. Good times, good food, nice gathering. So why do we feel like ca-ca today? My eyes feel like they're coated with glue and I have an energy level of zero. Noel hasn't really moved much today except between sofas. Why oh why is our rebound time zilch anymore? No wonder we only do this every other month or so! Who wants to feel like this...

I sure don't!!

Fashion Show...

2009-01-10T10:38:00.009-05:00

Last night Kelsey and two of her friends participated in a fashion show for prom gowns. It was hosted by one of the bridal shops in the area. They had a lot of fun strutting around and showing off the gowns. Each girl got to model four gowns. Here's some of the pics:

Afterwards, we all went to dinner at
Cracker Barrel. It was a great family night
out and I'm glad Kelsey got to participate in
something that was just plain fun.

Ice Storm!!!

2009-01-07T19:31:00.009-05:00

Well, the kids didn't have school because of an ice storm that made it's way through our area. Gee, they were just heart broken! Anyway, I went into work late because I hate driving in the stuff. As I headed out to the field to see clients this afternoon, I realized just what a monochromatic day it really was! Sooo very gray. This pic shows you just how "blah" the day was:

I did not enhance this photo at all. If you look really close, you can see the green of the grass along the road's edge. And those bushes are covered in ice. Just yucky.

Kelsey asked if I could stop and get some bananas after work, so I grabbed my coupon holder and off I went. I'm so glad I did! I ended up getting some other things and with the sales and coupons, saved 57.47% on my bill.

All of that for $8.77. Gotta love saving a buck or two! Not bad at all considering the cereal alone sells for $3.45 a box!

Oh, and guess what?? Kelsey was contacted by a local bridal shop today and asked if she would model some of their prom gowns in an upcoming fashion show this weekend! She's pretty excited! I'll post pictures after the show!

Don't Throw Those Christmas Cards Away!!

2009-01-05T20:58:00.006-05:00

I just learned of a program at St. Jude's Hospital (I'm a little slow, I'm sure some of you already know about this)...but if you send in used cards (Christmas or any kind) before the end of February, the kids can recycle them and sell them to benefit the hospital. So what are you waiting for? Gather all of those cards you have laying around and send them off to:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Card Recycling Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Don't forget...they can be ANY kind of used greeting cards! Come on, you know you're going to throw them out anyway! Why not help the kids instead?

If you want to learn more about St. Jude's Hospital, here's a link to their blog: http://stjudesranchforchildren.typepad.com/ There's even a link on there that you can use if you want to purchase some of the recycled cards. Give it a look-see!

Total Score at the Store!!!

2009-01-05T19:55:00.010-05:00

After work today, I headed off to my favorite discount grocery store...Surplus Outlet. There I was able to get a ton of things for a very small amount of money. Their prices are unbelievable! Check this out...Individual Welch's Orange Juice bottles...$.39 each. Are you kidding me? They're $1.59 everywhere else!

I ended up with a cart full of items including milk, orange juice (6 individual bottles), celery, broccoli, trail mix (4 boxes), rice cakes, toilet paper (4 packs of double roll), bread, fresh spinach, Cooper cheese, bottled water (6 pack), frozen chocolate treats, bottled green tea (6 individual bottles), a huge jar of jalapenos (64 ouces), snack pack crackers, cranberry sauce, 2 lb onions and pumpernickel snacks. I mean, look at all of this stuff:

And all for just.......are you ready?
If you can't see it, it says $39.43!!! Gosh, I love when I get good deals!

Our First Fostering Experience...

2009-01-03T19:09:00.003-05:00

We got a call yesterday morning and a request to help out the Agency by keeping a 10-year old boy for the weekend. Well, it's Saturday night and so far, so good. It's just weird having a boy in the house! (Other than Noel that is) I'm used to picking up hair dryers and makeup, not robots and skateboards. Everyone got along well and he's asked if he can come back some time. Here's a pic of him and Kelsey playing the Wii...

I'm glad we decided to foster. Of course I'm happy that we can help the foster children themselves, but I have a feeling it's going to give my own kids experiences they would never have otherwise. You know, an understanding of what other children's lives are about, a deeper look into the world. At least I hope so.

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2009!!

2009-01-01T17:12:00.012-05:00

Well, another year has begun and I want to wish everyone a very healthy, happy and prosperous 2009. Noel and I are very much looking forward to the year and all of the changes, beginnings and adventures that it will bring.

We had our friends Rhonda and Scott over for New Year's Eve dinner (steak on the grill that was out of this world!). Alex and her friend were here for the evening as well as Rhonda and Scott's little girl Emma, who also brought a friend. Kelsey, Allen and two other teens joined us after midnight. We were going to head to the event they hold down town "The Coal Drop", however it was bitter cold and windy, so we gave Emma and her friend good ol' pots and pans to bang and spent the turning of the new year with Dick Clark.

You know, we like to do our part in giving what we can to charities, so this month we have a pet-themed blog because we are donating to the ASPCA. Our county offices are hosting a donation drive, so it was easy to choose! Why not drop those unused dog dishes, leashes, toys or doggie treats to your local animal shelter? They can always use things like brooms, towels, blankets, hoses, dish detergent and buckets too. Think about it, won't you?

Or, you can drop a couple
bucks to support the ASPCA at
http://www.aspca.org/

You already know that we own the best dog in the world, Sadie, but did you know that we are also the proud owners of a beautiful Beta by the name of Fitcher? Kelsey won him at the Bloomsburg fair this past year. Needless to say, we didn't think he'd be with us very long, but lo and behold...here he is three months later:

Today Kelsey returned to work and Alex went to Jordan's house for the night. So, it was just Noel and I for dinner. I made the traditional pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes and molasses bread. I will be the first one to admit, I HATE making mashed potatoes. It takes forever to prepare them and mine always turn out lumpy. But today, I came up with a new system for preparation. I made an assembly line that took me from peeling all the way to ready-for-the-pot. It worked out really well and took no time at all!

Clean up was a breeze too. Whoever does not own one of those choppers....go...run to the store and purchase one. I've had mine since last Christmas (present from Kelsey) and I use it all the time! LOVE it! Oh and guess what?? My mashed potatoes were the bomb! No lumps! Mom told me I was buying the wrong kind of potatoes, so I switched and she was right! (Don't tell her, I'll never live it down!)

Fun thing of the day....my laundry chute! It is so convenient and makes a terrible job so much easier. Pick up the trap door in the bathroom closet floor, toss your clothes down and off they go to the laundry room! The fall into a basket behind two doors that are right next to the washer.

Can it get any easier? Well, yes...how about a dumbwaiter to take them back up?

Our Shopping Day...

2008-12-29T21:35:00.014-05:00

Today Kelsey, Alex and I headed off to Harrisburg for a day of shopping. The girls' Christmas money ws burning holes in their pockets! Before we could go, I had to stop at the tax office and pay those end of year taxes. Ugh! Apparently, when I was inside, Kelsey found my new camera...

She drove us around town doing errands before we headed to the Interstate. We figured we needed drinks for the ride, so off to...where else? Dunkin Donuts! Kelsey loves to go through the Drive-Thru. She thinks it's the ultimate test of her driving skills.

So then we head to Harrisburg. First, Old Navy, Circuit City, Marshall's and Best Buy. Here's the girls browsing through the CD's at Best Buy:

Alex ended up getting Disco
and 80's CD's. Seriously, she
was born in the wrong era!

By this time, we decided we were getting quite hungry. We decided on Red Lobster for lunch. I'll admit it, bad choice! Our meal took over an hour and a half to make it to our table! Luckily, we got salads and biscuits with our meal, which we munched on until we were fed, but we were not happy campers at all! I guess it could've been worse, we could have been one of these guys:

Then it was off to the mall and Gabriel's. One thing I noticed. I must be getting old. While I was waiting for the girls to pick out some clothes in Hollister, I sat in one of the big comfy chairs cuz my feet were starting to ache. Then, instead of checking out the nice looking young guys working there, I took notice to the great lighting features, then the dusty shelves. I knew it was all over when I had a terrible urge to clean up the mess left by one of the workers!

After all was said and done, we got in our car and headed back north. As we were sitting in traffic, I had that eerie feeling...you know the one...that someone was watching me! I slowly peered to my left and I found the root of the chills going down my spine...

Back to Penny Pinching...

2008-12-28T20:05:00.017-05:00

So, Christmas is over and I managed to get through it without charging anything...no, that's not totally true, I do have a $38.00 bill coming from Boscov's. Tomorrow, the girls and I will head out to spend their Christmas money, so I'm hoping to grab lots of sale items!

As I've mentioned before, I love saving money and am a penny-pincher at heart. It's a real challenge to me to see how much I can save on any given item. So off to the grocery store I went today. I was looking for some things for lunches for the upcoming work week, of course pork for New Year's Day and some side dishes for New Year's Eve.

I first had

to clip all of

the coupons.

Then, I file all of them

according to category.

I have two separate

coupon accordian

files. One for food

and one for health and

beauty products.

If you want to cut your coupon-cutting time in half, I highly recommend you get one of these great little gadgets:

It's one of those little zippy wrapping paper cutters. Wow, does it get the job done! Anyway, have to say, sales this week were terrible! After all was said and done, I only saved a total of $25.99, which was about 30% of my bill. I usually average between 40 and 50 percent, so I was disappointed. But, that's $25.99 that's still in my pocket! I also have to keep in mind that when I'm done with some of the products, I can send in for rebates. For instance, I can get all or some of the total price of an item when I send proofs of purchase, such as my receipt and/or the UPC on the item. Some brands have their own "points system" where you collect symbols from the package and redeem them for something free. I just received a Charlie Brown DVD for buying some frozen vegetables. I have a separate file for refunds and their proofs of purchase:

I'm currently saving up for another DVD and a t-shirt from Kellogg's. I file the refund forms by the month that they're expiring, so I know when they're due. As you can see, I kinda have it down to a science. I have to admit that I've been slacking off a little because of the chaos of the holidays, but I'm going to dive right back in, starting today!

As a side note, did I mention that Santa gave me a new digital camera for Christmas? It is sooo awesome! Beware! I'll be a picture-taking fool once I figure out how to work the thing! I was able to take a picture of one of my favorite old Christmas decorations. It's a snowman tray that sits on our kitchen table. It's round and then the snowman figure stands up in the middle. I look forward to getting him out every year.

Isn't he wonderful?

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

2008-12-25T15:09:00.022-05:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!! We'd like to share our Christmas experience with you so far...

Last night, we all went to my mom's house and had a wonderful Christmas Eve together. It's our tradition to spend Christmas Eve there and we wouldn't change it for anything. My mom always comes up with great surprises and a new "theme" every year. Last year, we had a formal Christmas, we went dressed in formal attire, hair done, the works. This year, she told us to "come as we are". When we arrived, she provided one gift to each of us and told us they were our outfits for the evening. Inside the bags, we found pajamas! All the girls had matching jammies and Noel had flannel bottoms and comfy thermal top. Here's a pic of us girls in our jammies:

She supplied everything...right down to the socks...

Needless to say, we were all very comfortable indeed! Me, Kelsey and Alex had Santa socks while Mom had mistletoe socks. Apparently, they don't really make men's Christmas socks, so Noel was out of luck.

While dinner cooked (FABULOUS lasagna), we opened the rest of our gifts. Then we all helped prepare the salad, garlic bread and side dish of green beans with mushrooms and almonds.

After dinner, mom opened her gifts and we all relaxed until it was time to go home and wait for Santa...

This morning, Noel was the first one up. He put the coffee on and waited for the rest of us sleepy-heads to wake. He didn't have to wait for long.

Even though my girls are teenagers,
they still wanted to race down the steps
to open their gifts:

We had a breakfast that only kids can dream of:
donuts, cookies and pound cake, washed down
with ice cold milk.

We then all opened our presents (stockings first)
and enjoyed a great morning!

Here's some pics of the unwrapping:

Look...I got to open a
gift that Noel
wrapped with
tender-loving
care...

And Alex received
one of her favorite
80's movies...
Flashdance.
(She's such a retro
kinda girl...really!)

By the time afternoon rolled around, we dined on a lovely baked ham and some sides (Kelsey insists on ham on Christmas since she
doesn't like the turkey we have on Thanksgiving). The girls played with the new Wii, Noel fought with my new GPS system and I wrapped some last minute things. Kelsey went to spend some time with Alan's family and then we will all head to "the hill" to visit Noel's mom and sister's family.

I can't help but think how lucky we truly are. This Christmas has been very special for us all. We came together as a family to help a less-fortunate family this season . We also have some news...we were approved as foster parents last week! We will be taking foster kids in on a short-term basis and/or an emergency need. We are very happy about it and are looking forward to that experience.

I hope everyone elses holiday was even half as rewarding as ours has been. Merry Christmas everyone!

A Meeting of The Minds on a Snowy Afternoon...

2008-12-19T19:56:00.004-05:00

So today the weather was awful. We started with snow that ended in an icy, sleety, slushy muck. Needless to say, we weren't outside much. Allen came over to spend the day and he ended up teaching Kelsey how to play chess.

My mother ended up kidnapping Alex again for the weekend (it's their Christmas season ritual) and the rest of us stayed home, had a great antipasta for dinner and enjoyed some "down time".

Tomorrow, it's back to the madness of Christmas shopping! I have to double and triple check my list, but I'm sooo behind this year! Oh well, candy canes for everyone!

Our Sunday....

2008-12-14T18:50:00.004-05:00

Today we were all quite busy doing "stuff". Kelsey worked from 7am to 3pm. I did laundry and the dreaded grocery shopping. Alex was at my mom's house since Friday and she returned this afternoon. Noel headed to the farm to get some work done since we're expecting bad weather most of the week.

Once we all came together this afternoon, the girls started working hard on cleaning their rooms (they're teenagers, you can only imagine what those rooms look like). I have been cooking up some dishes for the week (stuffed chicken breasts, taco soup and a broccoli/cauliflower salad so far). When Noel came home, he had a surprise for us. We have a new resident at the farm! Last year, we had a guy from the Pennsylvania Game Commission come out and create a nesting area for barn owls. Well, today Noel noticed something sitting in the cut-out area of the barn...lo and behold, an owl! Ok, so it appears to be a Great Horned Owl and not a Barn Owl, but so cool all the same! Here's the best pic he could get with the camera phone:

Isn't that totally awesome? I love to watch nature at work!

Oh, and then...after we all saw the pics of the owl, Noel made some of his famous macaroni and cheese. Should be done in about 5 minutes. Yum! Good Sunday!

Getting In The Spirit...

2008-12-07T22:31:00.004-05:00

Today, we finally broke down and got out the Christmas decorations. Away went the autumn wreaths and ornamental corns and out came Santa and garland. I was dreading the process, but soon got into the spirit. We were going to get the tree today, but it was just to bitterly cold and windy to be outside, so we prettied up the inside. Here's a pic of Kelsey hanging the stockings...

And here's Allen waiting for her to be done hanging the stockings...

So, we will get the tree this week and decorate it during the evenings after work and school. I'm actually looking forward to it. Somehow, the Christmas bug went and bit me. Good thing too, I only have to shop yet for let's see....everyone!

Work...

2008-12-06T09:43:00.005-05:00

Have you ever just said. I really, really don't want to work in the same job anymore? I find myself saying that more and more often. The economy has aparently hit my employer, who happens to be a government agency, and my boss is currently attempting to cut the budget without layoffs. Beside the point. I have been doing the same commute for 19 years now. Although the faces have changed, in essence I have been working with the same people for the same amount of time. I have moved between buildings, but pretty much have spent the last 19 years looking at my desk area:

Don't get me wrong, I really like most of the people I come in contact with throughout the day. One of the guys I work with is quite the practical joker. One day I came to work only to find that my stapler got a case of the white-out chicken pox:

I get to meet new people daily, which is something that keeps the job from getting too routine. I just find myself feeling like I'm "stuck" and "in a rut". I can't help but think there has to be something out there that holds new challenges and lets me grow more, use my mind in a different way and start fulfilling myself in a whole new manner. I have devoted myself to helping others for the past 19 years and wouldn't mind devoting some time to me and my family. I still want to work, bring home some bacon, etc. I just want to do it in a different way. Seriously thinking about what will happen in the next year or two when I reach my 20 year milestone at my current job.

Christmas Concert!!!

2008-12-05T08:31:00.006-05:00

Last night, Noel and I took my mom to see Alex's Christmas concert. She is in the chorus at school. It was very nice. The selection of songs was perfect and they all sounded wonderful. Here's a few pics:

The second one is of Alex and one of her good friends, Jordanm who is also in chorus. Well, I guess this makes it official. If the concerts are here...the season is here! Guess I better catch up and start my Christmas decorating!

Crime Watch...

2008-12-03T21:31:00.002-05:00

Our town has finally done something proactive. They have established a Citizen's Crime Watch program. I got to speak at it tonight and walked away rejuvenated. These people have a real interest in keeping our town safe and it was so nice to see. I hope that the group grows as more become aware of its existence. Watch out bad guys.....there's a new Crime Watch in town!!

We're Back Up and Running!!!

2008-12-01T20:28:00.003-05:00

Whew! Seems that we were given an anonymous gift for Thanksgiving...a computer virus! Noel battled the monster for almost three days on and off over the holiday break. It seems that all shreds of the bug are officially gone. We can finally start blogging again!

I really don't understand people sometimes. Why on earth would someone create something intentionally for the sole purpose of destroying the property and/or sanity of another? I just don't get it.

But, have no fear, my husband has bravely fought the enemy and came out victorious. And we also have backup in case it happens again...

Great Weekend!!

2008-11-23T11:38:00.014-05:00

Wow, did I have a great, busy fun-filled weekend! Friday night, Rhonda, Maxine and I headed to the farm for girls' night. We pigged out on fattening dips and hoagies and enjoyed drinks while we watched movies by a roaring fireplace. It was soooo relaxing to watch an entire movie without ANY interruptions! No kids, no phone, nothing. Noel had stopped by the farm on the way home from work and made sure everything was clean, warm and toasty for us when we got there. He did a great job on the fire...look...

Here's a shot of Max...not sure what she's doing, but you can see her dang tonsils for goodness sakes!

And me, taking pics of myself
when I got bored...

Rhonda was the first to yawn, so she was labeled as the official old-lady-party-pooper:

We got up Saturday morning, and after a hearty breakfast of over-easy eggs and farm-style bacon, we headed home.

Saturday night, Noel and I went out to dinner (yum...spaghetti with shrimp and clam sauce) then headed to the Atlas Legion and met up with Rhonda, Nancy and Mike to see a friend play in his newly-formed band. We met some other friends there and enjoyed an evening of good music. The band did really well! Here's the only picture I got (with my camera phone) of our friend Sean. He's the drummer and lead singer.

Terrible picture, but the lighting looks pretty cool! The best entertainment of the whole weekend was watching redneck coal-region drunk people think they're sexy on the dance floor. No shame! Headed home after the band was done at about 1:00 a.m. I've come to realize that it's hard work having an active weekend social calendar! I'm definately a little slower today than normal and can't even think of putting my contacts in my face...age? Nah!!!!

The First Snow!!!

2008-11-21T11:18:00.002-05:00

We woke up today to a beautiful snow-covered land. It was a surprise snowfall for sure, especially when we got out of work yesterday and had to drive in the slippery mess, but you gotta love it! Even the coal banks are gorgeous when it snows :)

The Economy...

2008-11-18T19:20:00.007-05:00

Today had me thinking pretty hard about how desperate our economy has become. Noel and I started packing our lunches for work in an effort to save some money and after work I went to a local surplus store to do some shopping. First off, I love surplus/thrift/consignment stores or any other place I think I can get a bargain. I would be there regardless of the state of the economy because I'm a penny pincher at heart. But, with everyone I speak to, penny pinching is becoming a need, not a choice.

Yesterday, as I drove home - 17 miles from my office to my home -I saw the following:

10 homes, 2 businesses, 1 car and 2 campers for sale. That is almost one big ticket item every mile! This stretch of road is really quite rural by normal standards and to have that amount of things for sale boggles my mind. I'm especially sad about the businesses and homes.

I'm thankful that gas prices are down ($2.18 per gallon here) and am hoping that the economy bounces back soon. In the mean time, all we can do is work a little harder to make those pennies squeek! We can pull our resources together and do everything we can to help those that were hit especially hard during this upcoming holiday season. By working together, we can all get through these tough times and become closer as human beings in the process.

Here's what we're doing:
Packing lunches, carpooling more, shopping for things we need (not want), using freecycle, gardening, canning, budget-friendly meals, donating to our local homeless shelter, re-using items for other purposes and we bought a thermostat on a timer.

So...how are YOU handling the poor economy?

Wine and Cheese and Good Friends...

2008-11-16T13:01:00.008-05:00

Last night I hosted my Alpine Lace® Cheese "Cosmos, Appetizers and A Movie" House Party through http://www.houseparty.com/ . What fun! There were about ten women and we sipped drinks, ate appetizers (made with Alpine Lace Cheese of course) and laughed our tails off! It really was a great, relaxing evening that was needed by all of us. Here's some pics:

I would definately have another party through houseparty.com! What a blast!

The Bog of Every Day...

2008-11-12T21:33:00.006-05:00

Do you ever get tired of all the little things taking over your life? Yes, we have full time jobs that we know take about 1/3 of our days, but there are days I feel so bogged down by every-day "stuff" that I get frustrated over the lack of time for fun things or relaxing things or even just nothing. Today for instance there were things like 1) drop off paperwork to the accountant 2) meet with the guidance counselor for both girls 3) arrange pick-up of new furniture for Noel's uncle 4) confirm doctor's appointment for tomorrow 5) pick up new blinds for the living room 6) pick up food items for Mom 7) make copies of medical records for Alex 8) get gas in the car 9) pick up items to bring home from the cottage 10) review receipts for the past few days 11) drop off magazines for waiting room at work 12) pick up paint for the woodwork - which I forgot to do despite the fact that I was in the dang store! 13) update calendar for upcoming week for all of us 14) go to the Courthouse to get paperwork needed to apply for new social security card...and I'm sure the list goes on.

Even though one or all of those things may only take a few minutes, added up they take a nice chunk out of my day AND my mind. Sometimes, it's like all I'm doing is preparing for the next day or the next week.

The only "quality time" I got today was dinner with my mom and her friend Melissa. My lunch with Noel was spent with two other people. Don't get me wrong, they are two people that I really like, but I didn't even get 5 minutes alone with my husband yet today. The children? I had a short conversation with Alex and haven't caught a glimpse of Kelsey since 7:00 this morning.

I guess what I'm saying is...it's more important with each passing day to MAKE time for fun, for love, for family, for friends. Spend a few minutes every day reaching out to those around you. Stare into your spouse's eyes and connect with them, even if it's for a short time. Say "I love you" every single day. Look around you...take it all in...smell the air, hear the birds, feel the love and enjoy the sights.

Here's something to get you started. Last month, two co-workers and I were on our way to training, not really looking forward to it, complaining about the road construction and the commute when out of nowhere appeared this awesome rainbow:

We took the time to capture it and to admire it. Now, go find something awesome in your world and take the time to relish in it. Me, I'm going to go cuddle on the couch with my husband and get my quality time before the night is over.

Happy Birthday Alex!

2008-11-09T18:58:00.008-05:00

Well, last night Alex had her 17th birthday party. A rec room full of teenagers! Seems everyone had a good time playing Guitar Hero and Dance Revolution while stuffing their faces with pizza and junk food. I did end up having to retrieve two of the girls later that night after they wandered from the house (looking for boys). That seemed to be the only glitch though. All the girls stayed over night and were gone by noon today, ahhhh peace and quiet! Here's a group pic from the party:

I spent the afternoon painting the living room (trim area) and then took Kelsey driving after she got off of work. Yes, I know I swore I wouldn't do it again, but Noel was tied up all day putting a new roof on the garage (at least getting it started), so I had to step up to the plate. She did alright and I only wanted to throw up once! Speaking of Noel on the roof...here's some pics of the work progress:

Poor guy was exhausted by the end of the day..........

Well, there ends another weekend. Noel goes back to work tomorrow (has Tuesday off for Veteran's Day), but I don't return until Wednesday. Looking forward to having the time to hopefully get the living room at least near finished!

Healthy Heart!!!

2008-11-06T10:31:00.014-05:00

I wasn't going to post anything about this until it was over, but yesterday I underwent a heart catheterization at Geisinger Medical Center. Over the last two months, I had two positive stress tests (one regular, one nuclear), so they recommended a heart cath. Well, let me tell you...you don't know stress until they tell you that they want to go inside of you and tickle at your heart! Here's my reaction when the doctor told me:

Yes, that was taken at the cardiologist's office after he told me about the heart cath. (I really should not be left alone in the room after you tell me something like that...I'll find something to do so I don't sit there and dwell on that great news you just told me!)

See what I mean...I even played with the little plastic heart while he was gone.

So they scheduled me for the cath...yesterday. My appointment time, 7:30 am. Noel and I get there after very little sleep the night before. They take me back to "prep" me for the procedure at about 7:20 am. Nurse Tina tries to get my IV going...not so successfully! Ouch!! She mumbles to herself about how she doesn't understand why it's not working and decides to move up my arm and try again......Holy Crap!! Ouch already Tina!! She still can't understand why it's not working and calls over another nurse. They decide to bring in the "IV Team". It was like I wasn't cooperating enough, so they had to send for back-up!

The lady from "The Team" gets an IV going in my right hand, no problem. I'm finally "prepped" and wearing nothing but a hospital gown and some booties. ( I was quite the fashion statement!)They bring Noel back to be with me before they take me back. The nursing assistant comes by with my paperwork. "Blah, blah, blah...risks...sedation...1 in 1000 chance you can die...sign here please". Huh? So the odds that I'm gonna die are greater with today's procedure than say, getting in a car accident going home? Yeah, sign me up for that!

Around the corner comes my cardiologist. He stands at my bedside, takes my hand and says "I am so sorry, a heart attack came in and I have to take him first, it's going to be a while". I of course ask him if he's being funny this early in the morning and after he assures me that he's not, it sinks in that I have a long wait in front of me. Soooo...Noel and I spend the next four hours watching bad tv on a 7 inch screen.

Finally, at 11:30, technician Heather comes to tell me they'll be taking me back soon. So at 11:55, I kiss Noel goodbye and they wheel me off to the operating room. They take me in and start swabbing me, draping me and setting up the machinery. Very nice people by the way, we're all joking and having fun, but there's that part of me saying...hello? You guys know I'm fully awake here? You're gonna do yucky things to me and I haven't had any "happy" medicine yet! So, the cardiologist comes in and I ask him "You doing ok? You get some coffee after that last heart attack guy?". He assures me that he's ready to go and orders me some happy medicine. Woo hoo! I can feel it going through my IV because it's very, very cold. Before it gets up my arm, they're giving me local anesthesia in my groin area, where they're going to go in. So now I have a hot groin area and a freezing cold right arm. Really, really weird.

Doc says "ok, gonna start now". In my mind, I'm thinking "what would they do if I said 'nevermind, I really don't wanna do this anymore'?" I don't have time to think of the answer because I can hear Doc saying "We're looking at your heart now". Wow! You guys are fast! I get up the nerve to look at the monitor. Something very surreal about the whole thing...laying on a table, feeling like you had one too many glasses of wine and watching your heart arteries fill up with dye while your heart pumps it through. It's going ok until tech Heather says "ok, a few extra heart beats now...". I'm sorry? Oh! Scary! I felt my heart doing this thing like it was jumping rope. I did NOT like that! Next thing I know, Doc says "ok, all done". Really? Cool! "But first...make sure you don't move or tense your stomach muscles". Well, I'm sorry, but what's the first thing you do when they tell you not to do something? You do it! Doc says again "Don't tense your stomach muscles...take deep breaths. You're going to feel a lot of pressure". Apparently, he's putting the "plug" into my femoral artery just like you would the cork in a wine bottle...pushing it in as hard as you can. Ok...this is just too weird for me! And there's Doc, standing next to me telling me the good news...no blockages! I try to take in the information but it's hard when he's standing there with my blood splattered down the front of his gown. Tells me my coronary arteries look "pristine". Most of me is very happy, but there's this little part of me saying...are you kidding me? You just put me through this for nothing? I'm pretty sure I'll get over it though. Good to know that your heart arteries are "pristine"!

So, after laying completely still for two hours (ever try eating a turkey sandwich laying flat on your back?) and doing some post-op stuff (walk around the nurse's station, pee by yourself, etc), I was allowed to go home. I am recuperating rather well and am only a little sore. I'm not allowed to lift anything more than 10 pounds for a while and cannot over-exert myself, which I find to be the hardest part. It took everything I had to convince myself today not to finish the laundry or the painting in the living room.

Bottom line: I learned two things from this experience. 1) You really should follow up on any and all health concerns. It may not always be good news, but there is a peace of mind knowing what's going on with your own body. 2) No patient should see the inside of an operating room while fully awake! You should always be given a lot of happy medicine BEFORE they wheel you in and you should not wake up until you're in recovery. Call me an old-fashioned girl, but there's something to be said about the old days when they just "knocked you out" for everything.

Home Ownership...a Non-Stop Adventure...

2008-11-02T19:33:00.009-05:00

Today, Noel and I spent the majority of the day getting ready to paint the living room. It is a huge room and took a very long time! I am already feeling the pain...my aching back, arms and hands! I am so ready for a long, hot bath. Here's a pic of the room after scraping, spackling, sanding and priming:

I'll post "after" pictures when the paint is up. Problem: I haven't decided on the final color. Tomorrow I'm heading to the cottage, laying out all of the paint samples and begging Mom to help. I'm limited in the color choice because of the fact that we already have green rugs for the room. Mom will come to the rescue I'm sure.

The rest of the clan was busy as well. Alex had spent the night at her friend Carin's house and stayed for her birthday party today. Kelsey went to work this morning, had some pictures taken this afternoon at a local studio and is now studying for a Sociology test tomorrow in her dual enrollment class. Tomorrow starts another week of fun...

I'm Alive!!!! I'm Alive!!!

2008-11-01T16:12:00.006-04:00

I survived an entire hour of Kelsey's first day driving!!

Seriously, she didn't do bad at all. I am just such a terrible passenger to begin with that although I remained calm while she was driving, I'm pretty sure I should be medicated right about now. Noel, she's all yours from here on out....this is your territory!

I Can See the Gray Hairs Already...

2008-11-01T11:31:00.012-04:00

It's official. As of yesterday, October 31, 2008, we have a new driver in the family. Kelsey got her driver's permit. I'm aging by the moment from the worry! I think you should have to be, oh I don't know, like 25 to be able to drive. *sigh* Ok, I can live through this too. Heck, I survived the onset of puberty of two girls, how hard can this be? Right? Right?

So, last night was the final football game of the season. We ended up losing 23 to 21. Very exciting game though. Since it was Halloween, the cheerleaders and band wore costumes. It was very cute.

Here's Kelsey and her friends Dee and Colette. (A teddy bear surrounded by two kitties).

Here's Kelsey cheering and marching in her costume.

Overall, it was a fun game, even if we did lose our chance for the playoffs. :(

Noel and I then went to meet some friends at a Halloween party being held at the Garden Terrace restaurant. Our friends Scott and Rhonda went with us. Alex ended up earning some extra money by babysitting Rhonda and Scotts daughter while we were out. The band Deuce played and we met up with some other people once we got there. I guess I'm showing my age by making this comment, but...the band was really loud! My ears are still ringing! Ok...let's get the rest of this weekend going!

Our Thursday Night...

2008-10-30T20:48:00.008-04:00

After work today we headed over to Mom's cottage. She had a table for us to add to the rec room downstairs for our upcoming parties. Noel and I picked that up and re-arranged a few things for her and headed home. Kelsey worked, but Alex spent the evening with her friends begging for candy from all the neighbors (trick-or-treating).

My friend Maxine came up to visit and drop off something Noel needed for work tomorrow. At his office, they are having a Halloween luncheon, with a murder mystery twist. Max had a lab coat for Noel's character. Here's a picture of me and Max, taken at our Fall picnic. She's one of the three regulars for girl's night out, so you may see her a lot.

Noel worked on the Valley Greenery website and added a great slideshow. You can take a peek at http://www.valleygreenery.com/ . He did a fantastic job! While he did that, I handed out candy to all of the trick-or-treaters that landed on our porch. Sooo cute! Well, gonna get ready for another full day tomorrow!

Sorry So Long...

2008-10-26T17:07:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! I am so sorry that it's been so long since I've updated our blog! We have been sooo very busy! Mostly with work-related things like tons of meetings, trainings and evening programs. I'll try harder to keep up, I promise!

Let's see...football team is doing great. We've been going to every game and they're on a nice little winning streak right now. We traveled to Mifflinburg on Friday and the Indians stomped the Wildcats with a score of 31-15.

Had girl's night out the night before that, this time at the new restaurant in town - Brewser's. Same trio - me, Rhonda and Max. We're trying to make it a monthly thing that we get together to unwind. Next girl's night out is already scheduled, but this time it's an all-nighter! We're staying at the farm to kick off winter. Getting the fireplace going, having some wine and not worrying about driving (or children!). Can't wait!

Speaking of girl's night out...everyone knows how there's two things that I really like to do. First is entertain, second is enter fun contests and stuff on the internet. Well, I have been chosen to be a host of an Alpine Lace® Cheese "Cosmos, Appetizers and A Movie" House Party. What happens is, the sponsor (Alpine Lace Cheese) is sponsoring a themed party. This one is a girl's night out movie party. It includes appetizers, the drink cosmos and the movie "Sex in The City". A few days before the party, the sponsor sends a party pack of goodies for your party. The party is held nation-wide on the same night by a predertimed amount of hosts. I invited all the girls and we'll take pictures of our party and post them on the host site. Then, we'll be able to see pictures from all of the parties of the same theme. (I'll do anything to have a party!) So, if you're going to be in the area on November 15, let me know, I'll add you to the list!

The Valley Greenery produce stand is winding down for the season, but we have come up with so many ideas for next year! We'll be planning all winter for sure!

Things around here are pretty status quo for now. Alex is planning for her upcoming birthday party, Noel is doing some hunting, Kelsey is still full-scheduled and I'm plugging along as well.

Oh, by the way, the lovely mums that were in the pumpkin cans that my mom made died. I know, we can grow an entire farm of produce, but can't keep three mum plants alive...go figure. So, I decided to reuse the cans and filled them with ornamental corn. I really like them! Now I can use them year after year...

Cute, huh?

Mini Vacation...

2008-10-13T19:07:00.015-04:00

Hey everyone!! We just got back today from a long weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. We had such a great time! We spent time at the beach, fabulous restaurants and quite a few shopping outlets.

We left Friday after school and arrived in Rehoboth around 9 pm. It's about a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive for us. Here's a picture of Alex on the ride down:

We stayed in a lovely condo that we found on vrbo.com. I highly recommend that site to anyone that likes to travel. This is the third time we've booked through them and have never been disappointed. All the rental properties are listed by the owners, so no realtor to deal with. Great prices too!

Sorry, got carried away. Anyhow...we spent Friday at the beach. Noel fished, I read some of my book and the kids played and collected shells/rocks. Here's some of the beach pics:

You would not believe the fabulous weather we had...in Delaware...in October!

After the beach, we toured Fort Miles in Cape Henlopen State Park. Fort Miles was built to defend Delaware Bay and River and to protect domestic shipping from enemy fire, particularly from the German surface fleet during WWII. It is fascinating to see and to imagine it alive with soldiers. Here's some pics from our tour:

The scariest part of the tour was walking to the top of one of the guard towers. I HATE heights. I did rather well until coming back down. Had to steady those wobbly knees!

The Tower:

The view before the climb:

The climb UP:

And from the top:

Later that night, while we waited for our dinner reservations, we tried drag racing. How fun! This tidbit may be disputed, however I do believe I won hands down!

Ssshhhh, don't tell Noel,

he thinks he won!

The following day we did some early Christmas shopping, late back-to-school shopping and some just-for-fun shopping! The outlets are wonderful and have over 130 stores. With all of those stores to visit, you wouldn't think Kelsey would have time to "horse around", but she sure did!

After shopping, we drove down to Ocean City, Maryland for a seafood buffet dinner. Then, rolled ourselves back to the condo and had movie night. After packing the car this morning (how did we get so much stuff in such a short amount of time??), we had a big breakfast and headed home.

Unfortunately, reality has set in and we've already started preparing for the week by prepping the produce stand, reviewing our mail and scheduling some appointments. Well, it was nice while it lasted...

Nothing Earth Shattering...

2008-10-07T21:17:00.006-04:00

Nothing really to report since the weekend. Monday was, well Monday. Brought Kelsey home from school as she wasn't feeling well. Otherwise, very Monday.

Today I worked 10 hours and am just plain old tired! My mind must have been somewhere else totally because I left my car keys at work when I brought a department car home to use for training purposes tomorrow. Not a real problem in itself except we were supposed to drop my car off at the garage tomorrow to get new tires! Soooo, had to call the garage and explain my absent-mindness and reschedule the drop off for tomorrow night.

Oh yeah, and unless you are very, very brave...don't come anywhere near our house for a while. It is a real:

Two out of three females are suffering from "The Syndrome". You have never seen such crying, laughing, anger, glee and everything in between all within a time span of about 20 seconds. EVERY 20 seconds! So, I love you all, but will have to visit next week, ok? Poor, poor Noel.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2008-10-05T15:28:00.009-04:00

Wow, the last few days have been so busy for us that it's really nice to be home on a Sunday afternoon, catching up on laundry and updating our blog.

Let's see, Thursday night Noel and I attended the Juvenile Court Services annual banquet. My mom is on the Advisory Board and made all of the center pieces. This is what she did to display the mums...

Those are paint cans sprayed black , with the images decoupaged onto the surface. The tables also boasted pumpkins, gourds and ornamental corn from Valley Greenery! The banquet was held at our Vocational School, with students from the Culinary Class preparing and serving the meal. I love to see the students involved in things like that!

Friday night, the Indians had a football game at home, so we attended to see Kelsey play in the band and cheer. Don't ask the score. Let's just say, it wasn't our best game. Noel and Alex then headed to the farm to stay the night in preparation of our big fall picnic, while Kelsey and I stayed at the house because Kelsey took the SAT's on Saturday morning and had to be at the school at 7:30 a.m. I cooked the majority of the food on Friday night, which turned out very well given the time constraints we were under for Saturday.

So, the day of the big picnic comes and I was up at 5:45 a.m. I was too nervous that the alarm wasn't going to go off and Kelsey would miss SAT's! After breakfast, we headed out the door and it was raining! I was soooo worried! 48 degrees and raining on the day of our picnic!

It all ended up working out in the end. We had around 55 to 60 people, the food and drink flowed and everyone had a great time. Mother Nature came through and blessed us with a fabulous afternoon of around 60 degrees with some sun. Here's some quick pics taken with my camera phone:

Good food, good friends, good times! We had it all! Of course, after all the preparation, cooking, cleaning and worrying...I felt the need to break into one of our gifts...some wonderful wine from a local winery. THEN it was time to relax!

The party went through the night and wrapped up around midnight. Even Bo, the party animal was exhausted and fell asleep by the campfire:

We all stayed at the farm last night. Poor Kelsey had to leave early this morning to be at work. Noel, Alex and I cleaned up from the picnic and headed home. Now, to prepare for another week of work and school...

Timber!!!!!!

2008-09-30T08:26:00.006-04:00

Well, we've needed our trees trimmed for quite a long time and finally got around to hiring someone. Our trees are mammoth and tower over our house. They have ended up hanging in our gutters and scraping against the house. There were also two crabapple trees in our yard. Both were dying, probably from getting too little sun because of the other trees. We took one down in preparation for the Valley Greenery stand. Here's Noel working on that project:

Then, there's the guy trimming our other trees. I gotta tell you, he's a lot braver than I am! He climbs up these huge trees like a squirrel, hangs out over the branches without a care in the world. Thank goodness there's people like him to do the job, but made me nervous just looking at him! This is taken looking outside of our office at home. The pic is a little off because of the screen in the window...sorry!

He's gotta be 30-40 feet in the air at this point. Crazy!

So, with today's economy, I've taken it upon myself to teach our girls the importance of saving a buck or two. I've always been somewhat of a "thrifty" person (thanks Dad for teaching me the word budget) and am trying to pass some of that knowledge onto our daughters. Kelsey, forget it, if she has a nickel in her pocket, she has to run out and spend it. Alex, on the other hand, there may be hope yet...

Here she's clipping the coupons from the Sunday paper. Do I see a "thrifty" person in the making??

Fun Filled Day...

2008-09-27T22:03:00.011-04:00

Well, to start off, we won the game last night! Score was 21-14. Go Indians! Here's a picture of my friend Max. Her daughter was on the homecoming court.

She obviously has issues...explains why she's my friend I guess.

Then there's Lisa.
This is what she looks like right after
her son Tim made a touchdown:
She doesn't look like the nervous mother at all, now does she?

So, that was last night's activites. Today, we spent most of the early afternoon visiting with Noel's sister Bonnie and her husband Frank, who are visiting from South Carolina. We all then attended a birthday party for our great-niece Tori. Wait a minute...there is no way we are old enough to have a great niece is there? Ugh! Anyway, look how stinking cute she is:

After the birthday party, we headed to the RCA Picnic Grounds for a benefit night. Proceeds went towards heating assistance for the needy. We mingled a bit, saw some people we haven't seen in a while and even met a few new friends. When we got home, we found one of our upstairs bathrooms to be slightly flooded. Somehow, our toilet leaked without us knowing until Noel stepped onto the wet floor. Well, I guess we're off to buy a new toilet this week!

Although our day was quite busy, everyone found time to remind me of one important thing:

Once a queen.....always a queen!

Girl's Night Out...

2008-09-26T17:25:00.007-04:00

Thursday night (last night) was spent at Ghezzi's restaurant with two of my dear friends, Rhonda and Max. They took me out for a "Cheer Up, It Can Only Get Better" dinner. TERRIBLE week at work (except for Monday, believe it or not), and not so great in the every day arena either. Sooooo, friends to the rescue! We had dinner, drinks, girl talk and lots of laughs and didn't even count calories! We all decided that we need to do it a lot more! Wish I had taken a picture of the three of us to post, but I totally forgot. Next time!

Rhonda had a dish like in the second picture...spicy!

Max had a combo of two Italian dishes and I had the Chicken Riccotta. We all had salad and garlic bread to boot. Needless to say, we almost needed to be rolled out of the restaurant!

Tonight, we head to the football game. Of course, there's rain in the forecast! We're going to keep our fingers crossed! Go Indians!!!

Some More Contests...

2008-09-21T14:09:00.006-04:00

In my quest to constantly save money in whatever I do, I am always on the lookout for good sites to help me do just that. Today I came across a blog that has a ton of great tips AND is hosting a contest! It's like a double bonus! Here's a link to the contest, but make sure you look around the site too!

You can win some cleaning products and a bunch of coupons:

http://wontbesoonbeforelong.blogspot.com/2008/09/stockpile-giveaway-week-one.html

If you're looking for other money-saving sites, you should check out http://www.refundcents.com/ and http://www.hotcouponworld.com/ too! Have fun and save a few bucks!!

How about a free dinner from Pizza Hut? Mom Reviews is having a contest with a prize of a free pasta dinner from Pizza Hut. Enter here: http://momreviews.net/2008/09/14/win-a-free-pasta-dinner-from-pizza-hut/ Pasta....yum! Free pasta...double yum!

Valley Greenery Produce Stand is Open!!!

2008-09-20T10:59:00.011-04:00

Well, we finally did it!!!! We set up our produce stand this morning...

After a lot of hard work and tons of fun, it was very satisfying to see all of the wonderful produce and watch it all come together as we planned. Alex is going to be in charge of running the stand, she will make a great salesperson!

There's another reason that today is a wonderful day. I got an email from a long-lost cousin. He was always a favorite of mine and I loved hanging out with him when we would visit his family. Too bad he lives on the other side of the country! At least we've had contact and who knows, there may be a time in the future that we can see each other. Hello to cousin Tom and his family! Can't wait to catch up on the last bazillion years!!!

Here's some more pics of the stand:

You know, I can't help but think, we sure are very diverse in our world. Between Noel and I, in any given day you can find us doing such a wide variety of things that you never know what we're up to next! That's what makes our world so much fun. Never a dull moment, that's for sure! We do everything from running three businesses to plowing fields to arresting people! What a crazy life! I love it!

Another Win!

2008-09-17T21:41:00.004-04:00

Received another win in the mail...some makeup! Yay! This contest was hosted by Self Magazine. Gotta love winning useful things!

After Noel got home from the farm, Kelsey, Alex and Allen helped unload another batch of pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks for the opening on Saturday. It looks like autumn central around here!

Thrifty action of the day: Got rid of all of Alex's clothes that she doesn't want and/or don't fit through Freecycle. Lady came to my work this afternoon and picked them all up. I love Freecycle!

Contests...

2008-09-15T12:02:00.009-04:00

As a lot of you know, and some of you don't, one of my hobbies is entering sweepstakes and contests. Due to our hectic schedule lately, I haven't been able to keep up with them like I used to, but so far this year I have won some wonderful prizes! Our biggest one is a trip to Mexico. Here is where we will be staying:

We can't wait! It's going to be like a second honeymoon for us. We plan on traveling next year. This terrific prize is from a contest hosted by Boating Magazine.

The reason I'm telling you about this is because I thought I'd post a couple of fun contests that I came across today. They are all hosted through blogs and have some fun prizes. Good luck to you!

http://www.mommymandy.com/2008/09/lucy-giveaway.html - Enter to win a cute t-shirt:

How about winning some Marine Naturals Method Body wash and Water Flower Method hand wash at http://dannyseo.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/win-new-method-goodies.html?cid=130761116#comments

Corn!!!

2008-09-14T20:02:00.005-04:00

Today, I harvested about 100 ears of ornamental corn while Noel took care of more pumpkins. This corn is so pretty! It will look beautiful displayed. I prepped it while in the field, so no extra work when it was brought in. I love autumn!!!

Fun Weekend...

2008-09-14T11:04:00.004-04:00

We've had a pretty good weekend so far. Friday night was spent at home listening to the football game on the radio. We didn't attend because of the rain, but poor Kelsey had to go and cheer. We didn't win, but it was touch-and-go most of the game. We ended up losing by one touchdown. Yesterday Noel and I attended the 40th birthday party of a friend of ours. It was an outdoor party and luckily held under a pavillion because the rain came again on and off. They had a DJ there that played mostly songs from the 80's, along with an outdoor movie screen/projector that had the music videos. Wow, after viewing some of the 80's videos again, we decided the 80's were just plain scary! His family also made a CD of pictures of the birthday boy for the past 40 years that they played to music such as "Macho Man". Really a good time. Here's a pic of the birthday boy and his sister singing (while his daughter hams it up for the cameras). Sorry about the quality of the pic, but taken at night with the cell phone...you know how it is...

So, today heading to the farm to harvest the ornamental corn and do some more preparation for the opening of the produce stand on Saturday.

Mother Nature...

2008-09-10T21:08:00.007-04:00

I'll tell you, Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me. Recently we have enjoyed our own produce in so many ways! I've ventured out and made my own spaghetti sauce, a co-worker brought in some fabulous zucchini crisp that was made with our zucchini, we have stashed veggies in the freezer to enjoy this winter and today we harvested about 120 pumpkins and around 30 more gourds. They are currently curing and we hope to have them ready for sale by next weekend. This year has certainly been a learning adventure for Noel and I and we hope to get bigger and better each and every year at Valley Greenery!

On my way home from the farm, Mother Nature provided me with some more beauty:

Isn't she something that Mother Nature? She sure does nice work!

Oh, the good news of the day: Alex is being called back for a second interview at a job she wants. Let's keep our fingers crossed for her!

The Big Game...

2008-09-05T22:07:00.008-04:00

Ok, let's get it right out there....we lost BIG time! Final score was 47-7. BUT we really enjoyed the evening anyway. I love to see our town come together every year for the big rival. Houses are decorated, people are painted (yes, painted), everyone is so much fun! The day started off with the big pep rally.

Kelsey cheered...

And Alex sang the Alma Mater...

Then, off to the game. It was packed! I got there early to make sure we had enough seats. Kelsey played in the band before the game and then reported to her cheerleading post. Here she is with her friend Colette:

Noel, Mom and I were all settled in, watching the kick-off when some "late-comers" arrived at the game and sat in the row in front of us. They were the smelliest, stinkiest people on the planet! It was so bad that as soon as they sat down, three rows of people gasped. Not kidding! Now imagine, you're sitting OUTSIDE and people smell so bad, you have to get up and "get some air". By half time, the area around them got more and more sparse. We all stretched out as far as we could get for how crowded it was. Soooo bad! I just thought of something...that's probably why we lost the game! The players were overcome with the odor of B.O. and cat pee!

Anyway, my brother made it in with his clan, so we got to see them for a short while, which is always nice. We then headed home and dropped Mom off. Kelsey is sleeping at Samantha's house so Noel, Alex and I called it a night. Oh well, we'll get 'em next time!

Awesome Day...

2008-09-04T21:27:00.008-04:00

Today was a great day all around. I truly didn't stop moving from the moment my eyes opened until about 9:00 tonight, but it was sooo nice. Work went without a hitch and I got so much accomplished. Noel had an awesome day as well. The girls had very little homework and only one activity, which ended at 5:30. Noel and I went to the farm for a while after work to get a few things done. While in the field harvesting some gourds, I looked up and saw this beautiful sky...It reminded me of a child's scribbles...

When we arrived home, Kelsey, Alex, Allen and two of Kelsey's friends were here. Good thing too because Noel and I had picked up a kitchen table and chairs that my Mom had purchased for us and they were extremely heavy! Back in April, Noel and I had given our kitchen table a new life as a desk for the girl's computer in the rec room when we remodeled. It came out pretty cool too! Anyway, we've been looking for a table since then and Mom found us one. Alex is so excited, she may not leave the kitchen:

So, overall, it was a good, productive day. Looking forward to tomorrow though. We'll be attending the big rival football game and Kelsey will be marching in the band and cheering. Mom is coming with us and my brother and his family may also attend if they get in for the weekend from New York in time. Looking forward to another good day!

Off to College...Times Two!

2008-09-03T21:32:00.004-04:00

Well, today Kelsey started her Dual Enrollment Program at Luzerne Community College. She is taking two college classes this fall while enrolled as a junior in high school. She really enjoyed her Sociology class and already started her reading assignment tonight. Her History class...well, it IS history. She will plug away at it, I'm sure. Her boyfriend Allen started at Luzerne today too. He attended his English and Math classes tonight. Afterwards, he came to our house and our Sadie was so happy to see him.

Alex spent the afternoon job hunting with Brittany. I guess it's official. The kids are growing up. Ugh!!! I don't think I'm ready for this at all..........

Labor Day at the Farm...

2008-09-01T22:04:00.008-04:00

Happy Labor Day and boy did we labor! LOL Kelsey had to decorate football players' houses today for the upcoming game, then had to work the second shift at the donut shop. The rest of us headed to the farm...Before I tell you about our day, let me tell you how much I loved turning onto our lane and seeing the darling couple from a few farms down roaming about on their four-wheeler. They are the loveliest people! Here was my first view approaching the farm today:

Sorry for the fuzzy pic, but it was taken with my cell phone while driving on the dirt road!

So, we arrive and get to work! Alex and I cut all the grass, which took about four hours, while Noel tended to the fields. He and I then checked on the status of the ornamental corn and look how wonderful it is...

Doesn't it look great? These will make awesome decorations for the upcoming season...

Then, I decided to take a break on a newly adopted glider/swing, given to us by another couple from a nearby farm. It is THE most comfortable thing in the world! I'was surrounded by doggies (two under the swing, one alongside) who also decided to take a break...

Then, harvest time...cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon and sweet corn. Dang, you should taste the sweet corn...it is soooo friggin good!

Anyway, hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday and enjoyed it as much as we did!

First Game of the Year...

2008-08-30T22:41:00.008-04:00

Tonight, Kelsey cheered in the first football game of the season. Our team played better than last year, but we still lost 35 to 22. The pictures we took of Kelsey came out too dark and look distorted when I try to edit them. But, hey...at least we got a cute one of us! Ha Ha

I promise to get one of Kelsey at the next game! She looks so stinking cute in her cheerleading uniform!

Before the game, I went to the farmer's market in search of some fresh jalapeno peppers, but came back empty handed. The tomatoes in the garden are about to go crazy, so I thought I'd make some salsa to store for the winter. Since I couldn't find the peppers, I made some pickles with some of our insane amounts of cucumbers.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that it looks like I broke my toe today too? As we were getting ready for the game, I jammed my toe against the gate we use to keep Sadie in the kitchen. I couldn't understand why it was so sore and getting more sore as the game went on...until I took off my sock and found this!!!

Gross, huh? I have ice on it, but it's just getting more swollen and purple as the night goes on...
Maybe I can get someone to wait on me....oh, the pain....I can't walk...I could use a Kahlua and Cream...anyone?....anyone?

Sad, Yucky Day...

2008-08-28T21:20:00.006-04:00

Today sucked. No ifs, ands or buts about it. It sucked. Today, my father would have been 74 years old if he had survived his battle against cancer almost seven years ago. I hate death. My dad was a great provider, an avid hunter and a handsome bugger bundled together with a brilliant mind. Don't get me wrong, he certainly had his faults too, but you know what? He was my dad, and I miss him like crazy. I wish he could be here to watch his grandchildren grow, to share the joys we've been blessed with and to provide that big, strong shoulder when I need it. Dad, wherever you are....Happy Birthday. I love you.

My dad, pictured here with my brother:

The fact that it was my dad's birthday already had my spirits down, but then I had to go to work and ugh, did that make my day worse! No details, just.........blah!!

So, I decided that I needed cheering up. What is the best way to brighten your mood? Act like a child! And, I do not know any child that doesn't like slushies. Yep, a big giant slushie on my way to the farm tonight started to do the trick. As you can see, I chose cherry!

Spending the next three hours alone with my husband, helped a little more. We picked some tomatoes, checked out the pumpkin patch and just strolled around the farm holding hands, talking and sharing some future dreams. We also talked about planting more of these wonderful sunflowers next year....take a look at this plant for goodness sake! By the way, I'm 5 foot 9 and as you can see from the pic, this sucker towers over me...

Well, tomorrow's another day. I'll still miss dad, but I'll also still have a pretty great life going on...If I can only figure out how to not show up for work and still get paid...it will pretty much be perfect!

First Day of School!!

2008-08-26T15:45:00.007-04:00

Well, it is finally here...the first day of school! Kelsey was the first one out of bed after me WITHOUT prompting! She got up at 6 AM ... BY HERSELF! Will wonders never cease? Of course, I fully expect that to change by tomorrow...

Both girls primped and preened and then put on their jeans with holes in them...I know, doesn't make much sense. We had a great hot breakfast of egg casserole and sausage links, and out the door they went...juniors in high school!!! Where did the time go? Really?!

Here are my juniors....

Now the fun begins, practices, football games, concerts, driving lessons, and add a new one to the mix...college courses! Kelsey was accepted into the Dual Enrollment Program and is taking two college classes this semester. If she continues with the program, she'll have a full year of college in before she graduates from high school! Crazy!

Here's to wishing my girls a happy, healthy, fabulous junior year!!

Sick Day...

2008-08-25T20:27:00.006-04:00

I did not feel well today at all!! Ugh! So, called in to work and ended up sleeping half the morning away. For those that know me, you'll understand when I say that it wasn't soon till my boredom kicked in. It really doesn't matter how bad I feel, I can't just sit around. So...I decided to throw some laundry in and do something with the zucchini (again). We already have zucchini bread frozen (although I'm sure I'll make a couple more loaves before all is said and done) and zucchini jam. So today...zucchini pineapple!

Zucchini pineapple you ask? Yes sirree! Mix crushed zucchini with pineapple juice, lemon juice and sugar, simmer and there you are! You can use the mixture in anything you would crushed pineapple and believe it or not...tastes just like pineapple! Made up quite a bit...

Now, what to do with the other begajillion zucchini...

Beautiful Farm Day...

2008-08-24T17:04:00.007-04:00

Today was a great day! We spent last night at the farm and woke to the fresh country air! Alex brought her friend Brittany along. Kelsey couldn't join due to her schedule at work. We attended a picnic at a local farm, with all of our Leck Kill neighbors. Here's a pic of Alex and Brittany on our way to the picnic. The gathering was held at the farm behind them.

After the picnic, which by the way...farmers sure do know how to put on a tasty spread...we harvested a few of our things to bring home. Look at those zucchini after only a week! We will be eating zucchini bread and pickles for years!

Back to School Shopping...

2008-08-23T17:36:00.012-04:00

Today, Alex and I finished off some back-to-school shopping. As you can see, we were very successful!

Here's Alex trying on one of her back-to-school bras!!!!

I swear, I still get teary eyed when I see such a beautiful site...

Anyone have a tissue??

Am I The Only One Awake Today??

2008-08-22T08:27:00.000-04:00

Here's the view that I got when I tried to wake everyone up this morning...They are still laying there! Wake up everyone!!!

A Day In The Life...

2008-08-21T19:58:00.000-04:00

Today was a very full day for Kelsey. She spent the day at the Marina and tubing on the river. It was her friend Dee's birthday and a few friends went along for the fun. She then went to the stadium where all the cheerleaders are decorating the outer fence for the upcoming football season. I went along, taking some kids that were on probation so they could do some community service work. Kelsey then reported to band practice, where she spent the rest of the evening doing marching drills on the field.

Meanwhile...Alex and Noel took Sadie to the vet to get her nails clipped (a girl has to work at staying pretty you know!). Noel then went to Todd's house in an attempt to capture a roaming coyote on film while Alex practiced her skills on the keyboard.

All in all...a pretty busy day!

Nature...

2008-08-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

It still amazes me that we can put a tiny little seed in some dirt and a few weeks later have vegetables, flowers, trees, whatever Mother Nature can think of...

These pics were taken at the farm and are a result of Noel putting itsy bitsy seeds into some dirt...amazing!

Farm Life...

2008-08-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to post some recent pictures of our trips to the farm. There are two chocolate lab brothers from the neighboring farm that come to visit us every time we're there. They will hang out and spend the day with us. Sadie, our beautiful Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, loves to spend the day with them roaming the fields in search of critters! It's not uncommon to see all of them swimming in the pond together either. Here's some pics of the three of them. The first lab picture is of Luke and he is just a big teddy bear. The second is Bo and he has the most amazing eyes I have ever seen on a dog. Then, there's our baby, Sadie. As you can see, they have all just enjoyed an afternoon swim in the pond!

For Those That Didn't See...

2008-08-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of Kelsey with boyfriend Allen at the prom in May. Not everyone got to see it, so thought I'd post!

Holy Zucchini!

2008-08-17T19:07:00.001-04:00

Just got back from harvesting at the farm and WOW did we find the mother of all zucchinis! Here's a pic of Alex holding our mama zuke. We also brought home a crate full of cucumbers, some pints of blackberries, additional zucchini , numerous radishes and a sugar baby watermelon (tester). Nice harvest day.

A Hobby of Mine....

2008-08-16T23:41:00.000-04:00

I have become a real foodie in the last year. I make new recipes all the time and love to experiment in the kitchen. I have also learned to photograph my dishes and have even won a recipe contest! (Prize was a $50 gas card, who can't use that!)

Anyway, I have no idea what I'm doing, but want to link to a slideshow of some of the dishes I have made. Here goes....

http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s305/jonesies/?action=view&current=442caae0.pbw

The First Day of Our Blog...

2008-08-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

Hi all!!

Not even sure what made us want to blog, but a blogging we will go! Today was quite full for us. Noel took Kelsey to work first thing this morning and he then headed to the farm to get some work done.

Everyone knows the farm and it's official farming business "Valley Greenery" is up and running this year, right? We are growing organic produce and this year we have tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, radishes, sweet corn, watermelons, pumpkins, gourds and ornamental corn. We are already planning for next year!

Anyway, while Noel was at the farm throughout the day, I got some laundry done, did some shopping and tried my hand at making some jam. See, between the zucchini that we are growing and the zucchini that our nephew Austin is growing, we literally have zucchini everywhere! So...believe it or not, I made zucchini jam. Not a great attempt, the jam didn't set, but I know Alex will eat it up because it's made with jello and tastes like kool-aid.

Speaking of Alex, she spent the night at her friend Chesney's house. It was Chesney's birthday and she wanted a buddy to help her get ready for the party, so Alex volunteered of course!

Up above is a pic of Alex and Chesney on our vacation to the Outer Banks this year....

After Noel got home from the farm, he and Austin went to brother Joel's to help him out with some home repairs.

Later Noel and I went out for dinner. Our anniversary was on Tuesday, but who wants to go out to eat on a Tuesday night for heavens sake! So, we enjoyed our dinner tonight. We are now just waiting for our girls to return from their nights out so we can head off to bed. Exciting, huh?