Well, What Do Ya Know....It's a Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

HO! HO! HO! And Mistletoe – Children with their eyes aglow
Seeing Santa everywhere  – “Wait!! He’s here! How come he’s there?”
Bell ringers greet us wherever we go – And just this week…all kinds of snow.
The gifts are hidden so the snoopers around … Can look and look - and they still won’t be found.
The ribbons and wrappings all look just right. The bows are tied, each one perfectly tight.
I’ve finished these things, By George I’m ‘bout done! I’ll rejoice with a toddy (…and a small splash of rum?)
Maybe some cider, a cookie or two – I’ll plug in the tree and I’ll sing a few yules.
You? You settle in and I’ll update you all – From the first of this year straight on through to this fall.

 Kayla finished college and filled out some apps. Got a job and apartment and she’s loving that.

She’s living in Eagan, when the work day is done – it sounds like she manages to fit in some fun.
Ball games and hot spots, she’s found a few – this winter she’s playing lots of hockey there, too.
Kirstin and Ben have been married two years. They live south of town a few miles, but near.
They’ll be a mommy and daddy in 10 weeks or so – A baby girl’s coming (that we can’t wait to hold!!).
They’re thinking of names and getting things set – checking off what they have and the things they need yet.
Kyle,  Oh! Kyle, the wee-ist of all – Is headed to college somewhere in the fall.
We think it’s Bemidji – he’s locked that one in. But he’s full of surprises – we expect that with him.  
The Neon died this year, the tow truck was called – And Kyle got a little Ford truck in the fall.
It’s as old as he is, and he thinks that’s a kick – He’s lovin’ the fact that he’s driving a stick.
 It’s our last 
hockey season – So I’m starting to lobby – for Kirk and I to find a new hobby.
“Bowling!” I said, “Let’s get shirts! Let’s buy shoes! … Won’t that be fun? And who cares if we lose?”
So far he says, “Nah,” it’s not something he’ll do – but I have a whole year to find us something new.

 This year we traveled a couple of times. One trip was for Kirk, the other was mine.

Talladega’s race track was crazy and fun. Enjoyed every second (can’t recall, though, who won.) 
It was Cinco de Mayo and we noted that – at a place decorated with Mexican hats.
Then back home at B-Dubs with those friends for a beer–Someone said “Let’s go to New York, too, this year.”
I looked over at Kirk and he didn’t say, “No,” so I thought…. “Whoooop!! Holy Crap!!  Looks like it’s a go!”
We traveled on planes and buses and subs - and ate fare that was local, raved-about grub.
My friend and I scoured each city street- for somebody famous that we might meet.
We walked and walked and then walked some more – and stopped quick inside the Kardashian store.
Our husbands just snickered - not that impressed. (I think the guard frowned when I just touched a dress.)
“This ain’t no Kohl’s,” I thought to myself, laying a shirt for three hundo back up on the shelf.
Times Square, (where we stayed) hummed every minute. (I love visiting there but could never live in it.)
With some other friends, too, we took R&R - at a Duluth B&B - so this trip wasn’t far.
Walked the length of the boardwalk on a nice August day, then listened a while to blues artists play.
Spent a week in Boy River and some weekend nights. The boys like to hunt and fish when they bite.

Another election has come and then gone. You can argue all day who is right, who is wrong.

Politics Schmolitics some you lose, some you win.  In another four years we’ll do it again.
Ads were endorsed. Facebook friends were un-friended. (I was kind of relieved when all of it ended.)

So, this house seems too big with two people at night – Five beds and four baths, it doesn’t seem right. 

Three floors (and in truth we use mostly two rooms). So, we might do a little downsizing here soon.
2013 will bring us babies and grads – There’s an exciting year ahead to be had.

So Merry Christmas! May your dreams all come true. 
May your season be joyous- whatever you do.
May your travels end safely - your bulbs each one light. 
May 2013 treat you wonderfully right.   

Hey! Thanks for that

A time to give thanks...

It's November and you know what that means...
Yes, turkey legs  and pumpkin pie (although my personal highlight is the stuffing). It also means that people everywhere are giving thanks for the wondrous gifts they have in their life and I'm no
different.
I appreciate the gift I have of a wonderful family, that we all have reasonably good health and
enough money to scrape together a 6,000 calorie meal on this special November day.
But I am honestly thankful for most of those things every day.
I am also thankful for a few other things I might overlook the rest of the year.


I am thankful for 50 degree days in November that lend themselves to hanging Christmas lights without gloves, or hand warmers, or even jackets.

I am thankful for Christmas cards that I still make out and mail so there continues to be one time a year I can acknowledge and hear from people, other than on Facebook, that I never get around to calling and telling I miss otherwise.

I am extremely thankful for our dual control electric blanket. (However, Kirk needs to turn his side down because I'm confused whether I'm just getting too warm under the covers or if I'm actually experiencing the hot flashes I've been on the lookout for).

I am thankful for my relentless personal trainer, Miller (not like the. beer). Our Springer Spaniel with- not-so-much-spring who looks at me every day and says, "Let's do this! You're no wimp!" when it's time to go for our morning walk.

I am ever so thankful for hot coffee in the mornings and hot toddies in the evenings. (OK...maybe not (or maybe) every single night but the option for any number of delicious concoctions is there if I desire one.)

 I am thankful for the gift of hair coloring and a stylist that does it just right, and the bounty of creams and lotions and ointments that lend themselves to a 35 minute routine every night before I get into bed so I can appear to be six months younger than I really am. (Okay, I mostly cheat and really take about four minutes. Okay, sometimes I might use bar soap and a quick rinse.) But I'm thankful I have all those products for when I feel particularly tired or haggard looking.

I am thankful for awesome friends from all of the areas of our life: hockey parents who have shared all those trips out of town and weekend tournaments over the years; childhood friends who know us better than anyone and share the memories of bad home perms and that painful journey through puberty; and those that have come from surprising areas like the places we've  worked and parents of our kids' friends.

I am thankful for small sized feet because I often get to buy my shoes from the girls department at most stores and those darned little pipsqueaks are pretty stylish. (Size 6 women  = size 4 girls).

I am thankful for a family that knows our holidays have to be flexible and don't even question it.
I have always appreciated my children's go-with-the-flow attitude about this.
There are lots of homes where people's jobs mean their turkey is ate at creative times.
(Thank you hospital workers, law enforcement, those that will be there working next to my husband and others that do this all the time). For 25 years Kirk's job, and especially in the earlier years when I worked in radio, has meant our kids have enjoyed some very non-traditional holidayrs. Turkey dinner this year? Not too bad ... on the right day even - just no later than noon.
But my kids will all be home. They're following dad to work a couple of hours later so they can scoop up some bargains. They don't mind crowds and we've created thrifty people.
And I still get to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

I am thankful that this has finally been a year with no bad news.
Kirk and I took a couple of fun trips away together,
Kayla was able to find a job in her major after college,
Kirstin and Ben's family is growing,
and Kyle is enjoying his last year of high school. It is a wonderful life.

Oh yeah, I am ever so thankful for the big things ... and the little things.

A month of words

I am reading more than ever lately.
I think it's the fall weather and the comfort of hunkering down long under a light throw or heavier blanket, depending on the temperature, and the time indoors that lends itself to enjoying a good yard in it's entirety: a beginning and a middle and an end.

Not that I haven't managed to do a little seasonal leaf blowing and a few visits to mom and dad's place to see my brother's family and my nieces. We've followed Kyle's fall hockey team around to weekends in Moorhead, Roseau, and the grands: Grand Rapids and Grand Forks. Lucky for me Kirk isn't a fan of my driving and would rather sit in that seat so I can read on our travels as well. He enjoys a good story himself but enjoys sports on television more so when we've been traveling up and down the roads of northern Minnesota I've been reading 'Gone Girl' to him. (The second time for me after devouring it for book club and suggesting I share it with him.)
The weather men and ladies talk about drizzle, and cooler temps and the possibility even of some light snow in the coming days.
Deer hunting starts in a week.
Next week we turn our clocks back.
It's on to the icky roads and bundling up before we step onto the porch time of year.
But that's OK.
Because for all of the books I've read lately (and I'm in the middle of three right now) there are so many more I'm looking forward to digging into in the coming weeks.

Reality television is a fine dabble but up against an interesting story it's the lesser of the two desires.
So enjoy your fall.
Make a 'must read' list.
Either light the fire or flick the switch to the fire place
And settle back.

FYI:  Books I'm currently reading include:  Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Room for Improvement by Stacey Ballis, and When It Happens to You by Molly Ringwald. Kind of lighter reads which is probably why I've been able to flip back and forth between all three. Last night I finished "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson for next week's book club discussion. I laughed out loud more than once.

If you have any suggestions for future reads I'd love to hear them!

Youthful Obsessions

 

Definition of obsess (v)

bing.com · Bing Dictionary

ob·sess

[ əb séss ]

1. never stop thinking about something: to occupy somebody's thoughts constantly and exclusively.

 

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We visited a local retailer the other night for the midnight release of the video for the first Hunger Games.
The turn-out was very impressive and I have to say - it turns out a majority of the kids at the release had seen the movie in the theatre but had also read the books. Most had already finished the entire series. Some said they had re-read them in anticipation of this movie coming out on DVD.

 

The same was true when the Harry Potter collection was at its' peak a few years ago. I was in the stores at midnight when the newest books for that series came out and kids were standing in the checkout lines starting to read on the spot because they couldn't wait to dive into them and find out what might happen next in these adventures.
Kids are reading.

I had a grandmother who loved to read. It was magical to go to her home and peruse her bookshelves on a rainy day and see what I might find. My parents were both readers, too. I was well acquainted early on with The Bobbsey Twins and The Little House on the Prairie. Volumes of the Readers Digest Condensed Books were a big part of my summers as a child. This year I have read more than I have in a long time. I have felt a hunger to lap up all of the words that I can because I have some panic within me that they are disappearing and soon all of our magical stories will be invisible downloads. However then will we be able to physically hand over a book we enjoyed and pass it on to another?  I always have at least one, often two books that are parked in various spaces in my life - in the car, at my bedside table and in the den for when my own writer's block decides to visit.
I have a Kindle Fire now and I enjoy it immensely even though I didn't want to. However, already, I've experienced the downside. Two of my most enjoyable books of the summer that that I wanted to share with a good friend left me only describing how wonderful they were. When what I really wanted to do was drive right over to her house, thrust one at her and say, "You have to read this!" 

And so I am now hoarding books. I have some in every room in our home and when I am able to acquire more I do. I love it that my kids and friends can stand in my living room and stare at my bookshelves, like I used to at my grandmother's, and hopefully find a good tale to envelope them. 
 
I haven't taken an anti-Harry Potter or anti-Hunger Games stand. I know some parents that are uncomfortable with the themes of these stories but I've actually enjoyed both of the series myself and it seems like my own kids and their friends have read them as simply entertaining fantasies.
All I can keep thinking about for the most part is:  Isn't it awesome?!

"She's obsessed with those books," A friend said about her daughter a couple of years ago when the Harry Potter adventure was full bore, "She's read them all about three times."  And these are not thin, light reads. It takes some substantial reading time to muddle through one. 

As a kid I was a die-hard Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary fan, also. They are still among the other books that are on my bookshelves.
And they weren't nearly as big as the books that these kids are devouring. My own kids liked the Harry Potter series so much that they each bought their own set of books to have to keep. Yea! for pages and bindings and books you can feel and touch that will at least continue on for awhile longer.
Someday I hope they fight it out over the rest of my collections and that someone will want to keep them. Because I have been afraid. There are so many things competing with stories for our kids' attention now. They're basically 'hooked up' with the world at their fingertips 24 hours a day with new video games, e-readers and apps that come out every handful of minutes for their enjoyment and entertainment that I had already started to mourn the loss of kids that loved to read.  
Maybe I was wrong.

Sofas and lawn swings and hammocks are all inviting places again this summer for this new generation of readers. And there are so many other good books out there to discover.
My heart is singing.

Besides, (sigh!) I, too, had an obsession as a teenager.




 

 

VACATION

Last week was the highlight of our summer.

We took two vacations with two different couples and crammed them into eight days.
One was a major, air fare needed, non-stop exploring trip to New York City. What's not to love?
We left on a Saturday and returned home on Wednesday. In between we picked the city clean of every sight-seeing opportunity and curiosity we could muster between the four of us. We rode ferries, trains, subways, taxis and several double-decker buses.
And you know what? New Yorkers get a bum rap.
More than once we were spotted trying to decide if our map was right-side up and someone would ask if they could help us find something. New York-Nice, who knew?!

We had been there as a family several years ago but you can definately make several trips to New York and still see something you didn't get a chance to the time before. My friend, Michelle, and I are already talking about things we want to see the next time. (Although Kirk did say something about me keeping my butt home for awhile).

Still, we covered plenty of area while we were there.
We saw the Statue of Liberty.

:

And we stayed right in the heart of all the excitement - Times Square.  

  

We took a carriage around Central Park and we went to the 911 Memorial.

We also took da' train to Hoboken and visited Carlos' Bake Shop from the TLC show The Cake Boss. No Buddy on site of course but the goodies we bought were tasty.

And getting up early paid off because we beat the big line that was there by the time we came out.

It was a dream of a trip and we had a blast...

,,, Only to pack up again and hop in the car two days later to head over to Duluth for a smaller, more local  vacation. The timing for something slower pace was perfect. The whole weekend was
because we stayed here:

The Firelight Inn Bed and Breakfast.

The friends we went with had stayed at the Firelight several times and have always shared stories fondly of their weekends there. Now we know why. The owners, Jim and Joy, are so personable we felt like we'd known them for years even though it was our first visit.

 The Inn is so tastefully and exquisitely decorated that every room is simply perfect. We stayed in the Superior Suite that included our own living room and a bedroom with a fireplace and jacuzzi tub.

The Blues Festival was also going on in Duluth last weekend. We originally talked about taking in the festival and all that it entails but as it got closer and closer we unanimously opted for a weekend that was a little slower paced. We lounged the mornings away in our charming little rooms and moved at a turtle's pace, enjoying the breakfasts that were magically delivered outside our door in the mornings in wicker baskets covered with linens promising delicious surprises.

Day one's breakfast looked like this:

And Day two was just as wonderful:

The Firelight Inn is lovely.

If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing (or romantic!)  little getaway this spot is perfect. If you want to lounge casually for a couple of days this is the spot. And if you desire a little more - everything that Duluth has to offer is waiting right outside the door.
As with most bed and breakfasts, there is water and coffee and other niceties for your enjoyment throughout the day and Jim and Joy keep the butler's pantry stocked with plenty of goodies including fresh baked cookies. Joy is such a wonderful cook we even brought home one of the Inn's cookbooks but I won't even pretend that I can pull off what she does. Lucky for me, Kirk's expectations are realistic about that, too, after 26 years.

And then (sigh!) there is this:

The front porch to beat all front porches. This is the porch I've seen in my dreams.
It immediately made it on to my list of the top five places to be on earth.

Firelight Inn overlooks Oregon Creek and just the right amount of sunshine makes its way into this wonderful sitting area. It is perfect for napping, reading and visiting. The friend I was with is also a writer and we both agreed that this would be the perfect place to inspire someone to finish a brilliant piece of work.

I drank coffee there.
I drank wine there.
Kirk and I played a trivia game there and visited with our friends for most of Saturday morning there.
If the temptation of the Lake Walk to Canal Park hadn't have called us we might have spent the rest of the weekend sitting right there on the porch.

Maybe next time.

Less calories - Less guilt!

Lite

So those 15 darned pounds that I’ve fought with all year –

They’re still pretty visible when I look in the mirror.

“Dumb baby weight ,“ I mutter and steam

From my son -who recently turned 17.

So I’ve started again to count what I eat –

Cut down on desserts, my goodies and treats.

I’ve tried a few plans, bought books from the store

Scanned the internet and then read some more.

‘Quit this if you can' – 'Don’t ever eat that,’

They say.’ follow these rules and you’ll never be fat!’

Jenny says one thing, Weight Watchers another

They all have advice – for ridding my blubber.

Going out is the thing that's a problem for me –

When I look at the menus – I want all I see.

A burger and fries … oh, no I couldn’t.

A small piece of pie? (I could – but I shouldn’t).

Lasagna? Spaghetti? Ah, the book said no noodles –

But good sounding pasta … Oh my! Look! There’s oodles.

But then there’s the problem of whetting my lips.

With something that won’t end up right on my hips.

I know what I want – (It’s what landed me here.)

An ice cold, frothy, big mug of beer.

A cold beer with olives… ooooh! That frosty mug, too!

What’s an ale lover like me s’pose to do?

I usually mull and debate for a bit –

Make a decision and then rethink it.

Soup and salad? Maybe some toast?

But it’s still not the thing I desire the most.

The waiter comes twice and I send him away

Silently adding my day’s thus far intake.

When he comes back again I'm ready this time.

"I guess," I tell him, "I've made up my mind."

"I'll take a cold beer. Perhaps olives on top...

In the coldest, tallest, mug that you've got."

I remember I'm here for a low-fat, healthy bite -

So I sigh and call after him, "Hey! Make it a lite."

It's my status and I'll yawn if I want to

So, it has occurred to me recently that I just may not be exciting enough to entertain a Face book page let alone a whole, entire, some-web-experience-necessary blog.

Not that I'm quitting either of them because I'm not. I'm just using this as an informational session so that you realize how hard I try to keep both somewhat interesting.

It's just that, well, I've come to this new self-awareness phase that leads me to believe people don't, or shouldn't, really care all that much about what I wear, what I eat, that I got a hair-cut, or that my immediate plans include spending an hour this morning surface cleaning my house. See? Not all that exciting. Also - I hit my big toe on the leg of a table while I was doing it and didn't even deem that post-worthy.

The truth is I'm having a hard time discriminating between mundane ordinary happenings in my life and those that might be deemed noteworthy or warrant a status update or blog post.

There are things going on in my life, sure. But do people want to know about all of them? Probably not. Suffice it to say that I, too, hate Mondays, sometimes I feel like crap (thank you DNA that includes suffering from allergies to various things 12 months out of the year) and for the record I'm never sure what to make for dinner. But even when I do decide I probably won't take a picture of it and post it on the Internet when it's done (but there are other reasons for that).

I don't post inspirational quotes very often  (although I do like them), I haven't memorized enough bible passages to include them in my daily musings and while I'm occasionally witty (although my husbands says not as often as I'd like to think) I usually forget the really good stuff before I get a chance to type it in.

I do enjoy books and movies. Both of these are pretty universal topics. Things I've liked recently from these categories include 'We Bought a Zoo.' (Matt Damon is fabulous in everything). New books I've enjoyed recently include Mirror Mirror, Geek Love (both passed on to me by a friend) and, of course all three Hunger Games because, really, who hasn't? And I am always, always open to book suggestions from my friends and blog readers. 

I do belong to both a bookclub and a writer's group and sometimes I like to post about those. Then I can be interesting by association.

So, in a nutshell... If I post on my Face book and update my blog I'm probably still not driving you to the edge of your seat. But I do strive to be interesting. Or you know ... make it worth 5 - 30 seconds worth of your time because you have your own status to update.

For those that really do have inquiring minds: No, I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and finished a really good book at 2 a.m. I had peanut butter on a slice of bread for lunch today. It's 64 degrees this afternoon and yes, I do love it. Also - It's looking pretty much like pork roast for dinner at our house and I took a pass on posting about any of it.

I'm a work in progress.

Always a work in progress.

10 Upcoming things I'm excited for

1. Spring.  To be followed by summer.
2. Sunshine. On my face, my legs, my arms and anyplace else it deems fit to shine.
3. To see the movie 'The Hunger Games'. (I'm about to start the second book and I'm in the process of cramming them all in before the big premiere later this month).
4.A partial kitchen makeover at some point. (To be determined by the amount of free time we have mixed in with all of the other things we have already planned in the months to come). We are big on ideas and short on time but just a year out from our final grad party so by this time next year we'll be admiring the finished product. (Besides boys are so very hard on things - and there's a little desire to procrastinate).
5. Flowers, flowers, flowers.
6. A handful of weddings.
7. My son-in-law's return from the Marines so we can get on with the business of becoming a full and complete family.
8. Chasing the dog around the yard. (Meaning out of flower beds).
9. Several treks to my parents' house so the boys can hunt and fish and chop wood and do all of the other very 'male' things there are to do there along with the perpetual campfire that everyone gathers around nightly.
10. Writing. Lots and lots of writing.

A mini book discussion

A good book.  There's nothing like it.
I just read one and I'm recommending it.
It's a book by an author about an author interviewing a famous author. Suffice it to say everyone in this book loves words and books and the telling of a good story. And, by the way, there actually is a pretty interesting story within the pages as an added bonus. There's even a little mystery to figure out. It has almost everything Awesome.

A writer/reader friend of mine borrowed the book to me and it came out around 2006.. I'm not sure how easy it will be to find but it's worth a little hunt if you love getting caught up in the world of storytelling..



My book club is currently reading this book.

This one will be much easier to find because it's his latest book  but beware... it's a long story but it was a fast read for me and I was immediately caught up in the story and this is another great book.

I've read three or four other Stephen King books (includng "On Writing" because I definately admire his talents as a writer) but I'm not a dedicated reader of his novels (the gory stuff and all). This book, however, is an adventure ... one that includes a little time travel which is always fun to contemplate and he has created such interesting characters to travel with.
Stephen King - I'm hooked and this tale was entertaining enough that I'm going to pick up some of the books by you that I've previously passed up before and was too scared to read..

My next book?  Until our bookclub meets next week to pick a new title I'm starting The Hunger Games. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie and my daughter already had all three in the series.

What are you reading? If it's something you'd like to recommend, drop me a line - Summers coming!!

Shhhhhhhhhhh! I'm making an audio memory

I have learned to capture my memories in ways other than still photographs.
They are a little harder to share but most of them are personal memories anyway.

I'm not a genius or an originator of a great idea by any means - I actually think I started doing this because I'm more or less scatterbrained.  When my kids were little and we won the big game or the cutest thing on earth was happening I was the mom that stood in the background and repeatedly asked of all of the other mothers armed with 35 millimeters and Canon One-Shots..., "Hey! Can I get a copy of that?"  Most of which you know never really happens because I'm just scatterbrained enough to forget to follow up on that too.

So at different points in the past dozen years or so when life has been happening all around me I've paused.

Just paused.

Watched.
And listened.

To the boys on the team cheer and laugh and debate on what the best pose for the photograph of a winning team might be anyway - who should stand where - should it be silly or 'straight up'.  I can hear the giggles of a dozen girls coming up from the basement on a Saturday night and the wail of my son's voice coming from the garage when his knee suffered the repercussions of a really bad bike jump attempt gone wrong. I can pick the memory of the first notes of the Wedding March at my daughter's wedding and remember exactly how that moment felt because I was making one of those mental recordings.

Because of this I don't have beautiful scrapbooks and organized photographs. I'm pretty sure other mothers have more pictures of my children then I do. Someday my kids will look through the beautiful books their friends' mothers made for them, laughing about their years growing up together, and realize I dropped the ball a little. But, I think they already have a clue in the ways I was inept at the job.
But I swear to God I can actually HEAR the things I've made mental audio recordings of. Somewhere in my brain there really is a magical zip drive full of these videos. The truth is sometimes I can smell the wet sand of the rain delay and I can feel the hair of the perfect tight braid the girls mastered in my kitchen. I can perfectly recall the sounds my kids singing along out of tune to a song on the radio on a summer day in the car. I know this is all pretty weird. But it's okay because you know what - maybe I am a genius.

And in the spirit of full disclosure ... I know a video camera would have accomplished the same thing and we have actually owned various models since the second our first baby was born. I...err...uh... usually forgot that too.