It's My Party and I'll cry if I want to...

 So I'm another year older and hopefully a little wiser. No, I'm not really crying! The husband and children woke me up bright and early to sing Happy Birthday and deliver their gifts. They made me a card and my son drew Mickey Mouse on it. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Mickey. They bought me a Nikon D-40 with all kinds of attachments. In my sleepy state I did NOT get to really look at it all. I know there is a bag, another lens, an adapter for my pc, and a sd card (I think that's right). I have lots of homework to do before I start taking pictures. The husband took me to the Bux for a pumpkin spice latte and the espresso machine was broken!!! I can't say I was all that surprised. Read on to hear of my MIA UPS package...

 My mother and sister always send me presents on my birthday. They get together and package it all. Then it's at least a 20 minute drive to the UPS store. Well, this year they got together with my father the day after Thanksgiving for breakfast and had the brilliant idea of getting him to drop off the package. My father is normally very thorough. However, he only has a receipt with no tracking number, it was suppose to be shipped/delivered in two days, and UPS can't help me without a tracking number. I'm anxiously waiting for the UPS man to show up today so I can get over being frustrated and worried that my package is lost.  I can't tell my mom the package didn't get shipped two day or she'll shoot my father. So here I sit trying to be patient.

 In other news, I FINALLY hired an attorney to represent me in my auto accident that the insurance company refuses to pay me for.  Today I will be running from doctors office to doctors office trying to get letters and statements. Wish me luck and if you pray, please say a small one for my UPS package. Hope everyone has a great day!

 

A Thanksgiving Meme from Whisper in the Void

A) Home or somewhere else?

This is the first year we have ever been at home alone on Thanksgiving. The husband bought a 20 lb. turkey for just the five of us.

B) Anything out of the ordinary this Thanksgiving?

I normally cook for 20-30 people so it was a  bit strange.We have tons of leftovers

C) Will there be a football game on at your place?

Dallas Cowboys game and Texas A&M vs. Texas

D) Apple, pumpkin, or mince pie for you?

My pumpkin pie

E) Everyone at one table or is there a ‘B” table?

We were all at one table

F) Will someone say grace?

I had the honor

G) Who does the cooking?

I cooked all of the side dishes. The turkey and dressing was a husband/wife combo. I love it when the husband joins me in the kitchen.

H) What wish will you do on this virtual wishbone? That all my loved ones stay healthy, feel better soon and enjoy being surrounded by love.

If you're reading this consider yourself tagged

 1. Who is the most famous person you’ve talked to?

Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman (Parts of Rain Man were filmed where I grew up)

2. How many bags of potato chips (crisps) are consumed at your house per month?

I don't eat them but my crew has to have them in their lunch. I'd say about 8 bags per month

3. What foreign dish do you prepare from scratch and serve?

Cordon Bleu, potato dumplings, plum cake, green bean salat. All of which my german mil has taught me to prepare

4. What is your favourite section of the supermarket?

I love the produce section

5. What was your high school’s team mascot and colors?

Bluejays and they were blue and white in color

6. What’s under your bed?

Absolutely nothing

7. Over easy, or sunny side up?

Eww I don't eat eggs

8. Favorite pie?

I love pecan pie now that my friend, Shannan has taught me to make it the right way.

9. Storms - cool or scary?

Spring storms in Oklahoma are cool

10. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing?

Nike+

11. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?

I love you too

12. Where did you live in 1987?

a small town in Oklahoma

13. Where were you when 9/11 happened?

A breakfast meeting at work

14. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?

German

15. Can you change the oil on a car?

Yes

16. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?

That he is in a christian heavy metal band and his wife is the lead screamer/singer

17. Gummy bears or worms?

Haribo gummy bears. They are pronounced goomy bears LOL

18. Your favorite food?

german plum cake

Fill in the blanks

I grabbed this from Small town girl. Thank you!

1. The last band I saw live was _________.
Bon Jovi and Daughtry at the Ford Center in Okc. It was one of my many trips home and the husband surprised me with tickets.
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is _________. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday).
I love dressing. I use my grandmother's recipe and I stuff the bird :0 I always use a thermometer and noone's ever gotten sick
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is __________.
something I dread every year. I wish we could just be thankful for our family and have a nice dinner. This whole present thing is ridiculous!
4. Thoughts of _____________ fill my head.
confusion (I've had a migraine all day and my home is a disaster due to my being sick all week)
5. I wish I could wear ______________.
My lucky jeans. That's a brand of jeans btw. Someday soon they will fit me again!
6. Bagpipes ________.
Remind me of men wearing kilts
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____, tomorrow my plans include _____ and Sunday, I want to _____!
Tonight I'm looking forward to Numbers and some downtime with the husband. I'd love to get in the hot tub but it's 35 degrees and windy. Saturday will be a day of laundry and housework since I've done none of that all week. Sunday I want to go to Reality.
Have a great weekend!

The bug has hit me

One of my little punky children brought me a gift and not the kind of gift any mommy wants. Sunday I began to ache and feel terrible. Yesterday was a day full of sore throat, high fever, and achiness. I didn't get much accomplished yesterday other than being camped out on the sofa with a warm blanket. I guess I have the flu. My best friend has worked with a great doctor and called to suggest that I take 1000 mg. of vitamin C every four hours. I'll spare you the details as to when you stop doing that. Today I sipped warm jello, chicken noodle soup, and a Sonic cherry slush. My children have been very helpful the last couple of days. They are really growing up into fine little people. My son helped prepare dinner this evening and my girls managed to do their homework on their own. This is a major accomplishment for my daughters. I checked their homework and they did it correctly. I'm very proud of them! :)
I had planned to start a water aerobics class today but I refuse to leave my home with a fever. I'm sure the other people in that class appreciate that. Hopefully I will feel better quickly and start these classes. I'm really anxious to see how my back responds to the water exercise.
The husband has an employee dinner planned for next week. Of course that means that I have to prepare something and make the annual cinnamon rolls. So I have six days to get myself well. Thankfully I will not be making a huge Thanksgiving feast since it will only be the five of us this year. That's it for now. Tschüß

Five years ago today...

I said, "I do" and today I'm still saying those words happily. Yes, today is my anniversary. With the economy such a mess and preparing for the holidays I had asked my husband that we not do anything major on this day. Well, sometimes he just doesn't listen to me. LOL A dozen long stemmed roses just arrived at my home. Attached was a card stating "the best is yet to come". Knowing him there are more surprises to come.I'm still just as crazy about this man as I was 6 years ago when we first met. Okay, okay so I'm sappy. My husband is a wonderful guy who stepped up and proved me wrong when I said that all men were worthless. Our wedding day seems like just yesterday however the calendar reminds me that time has flown by. It's been a blast spending this time with him and I look forward to many more years together. Isn't there a saying about how time flies when you're having fun??? Well, I'm definitely having fun! Thank you Mr. Husband for being YOU and for sharing your life with me!

I'm a blog slacker

It's been crazy busy around here the last few weeks. I'll try to play catch up and then be a better blogger.
I had a MRI done last week on my lower back. We took the results to my chiropractor and the spine specialist. Chiropractor said he didn't see anything spectacular and the specialist said I DO have a bulging disc in my upper, lower lumbar. However, that is not what is causing my pain. The pain is much lower. Near the bone at the bottom of my spine where it connects to my hips. (I hope that made sense) They were prepared to start the epidural steroid injections yesterday but I convinced them I'd like to wait another month, do some water aerobics and strengthening stuff and see where we are in December. The specialist said he'd do the same thing if it were his back. I'm still getting adjusted at the chiropractor three times a week and now I FINALLY get to do some working out. I would love to run or do a spin class but they have both been forbidden at this time.
My oldest child passed the advanced state test last spring and is eligible to participate in the 2009 CTY Talent Search (this is sponsored by Johns Hopkins University). A child must score in the 95th percentile or higher on a reasoning section of a nationally-normed test. We went to meeting last night to find out a little more about all of this. Basically, he will get to take the SCAT in February, be eligible for a rewards ceremony and can take some classes on campus of a nearby college in the summer. Also, he can take a high school credit of Algebra 1 in 7th grade instead of high school. 7th and 8th graders can take the SAT or ACT if they qualify. They gave lots of information to those grades as very few 6th graders qualify for this program. So today I'm a proud mama!
Reports came home last week. Of course, my son did very well, middle child (oldest daughter) is really struggling. She brought home C's and D's. I'm considering pulling her out at the semester and homeschooling her. I've put a LOT of thought into this and think I'm up to the task. If anyone cares to share the views on this, I can handle it and have probably shared your views/thoughts at one time. I'm considering the A beka curriculum since it is accredited and uses a DVD program to teach the assignment. Then there is book work. The youngest child (second daughter) is doing pretty well. If I could just get her to sit still and pay attention she would be at the top of her class. All of her grades have improved since last year. She is graded on a scale of 1-4. She had all 3's except for handwriting which she received a 2. The teacher told the husband she writes like a kindergartener! She can write correctly but her mind races so fast that she writes terribly. We are working on this and seeing great improvement.
College football has been pretty interesting lately. I loved seeing Texas Tech beat Texas! That was a great game and their receivers have made some fantastic catches. My O-state cowboys just couldn't keep up against the Texas Tech Raiders. The next few weeks should be really, really interesting. The thing I love about college football is it all can change in one weekend. Go Cowboys and Sooners!!!
I have been doing some cooking with my AFM's food. I received some split chicken breasts and made a really good baked chicken with them on Sunday. Basically you soak them in buttermilk and dredge them in a mixture of crushed ritz crackers, oatmeal, a dry ranch packet , and instant mashed potato flakes. Place a few pieces of butter in between them in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. These were really juicy and flavorful. I served them with skin on mashed potatoes and some steamed cabbage with bacon. Probably not the most healthy meal but it was sure was tasty. I also used my AFM's pork chops. Brined them in a buttermilk, rosemary and thyme mixture for 24 hours and then grilled them. They were really delicious. I served them with some fried potatoes and some mixed vegetables. It's chilly and rainy here today so I'll be using the rest of my split chicken breasts to make a chicken tortilla soup. I decided not to order November's menu. With Thanksgiving this month I wanted to serve MY traditional meal. November's menu had fried chicken bits on it and those things are just evil. Not to mention I have a whole bag unopened in my freezer from September's menu.
My husband has already purchased a 20 lb. turkey for just the five of us. The children mentioned everything they think makes Thanksgiving so I'll be making all of those. I'm thinking I'll post some of their favorites in each post leading up to the big day. I make homemade cinnamon rolls every year for the husband's employees, children's teachers, and my cleaning lady. My recipe makes at least 6 dozen rolls so the entire house will smell like them for days. By the time I get them ready for the oven, I'm tired of them and never eat one.
The December menu at AFM's is up and has some really neat things to choose from so I'll definitely be purchasing it. If you haven't checked them out yet, here is the link: www.angelfoodministries.com
Also, if you any of you read Bigg's blog please say a special prayer for him and HB. They are going through some rough times right now. I've read his blog for what seems like forever and these two are very special people. That's all for now