Snowy Tuesday

It's snowing here.  Lots of snow.  And wind.  Enought o close all the roads into and out of town.  Fun times!

On with the random:

• I still have yet to wrap any present and put them under the tree.  The boys are looking a bit nervous. I must get on that.
• Love this workout:

• Like this Snowman procreation:

• And this made my inner 12 year old giggle:

Have a great week everyone!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Yep, Christmas is ticking closer and closer.  We had a pretty great weekend.  There was skiing of the cross country type, and some avid movie watching.
We finally got Bruiser up on skis.  He did fantastic.  He trucks along and loves going down the hills and can't wait to go again. Turbo skied two loops, one with me and one with Nick.  Being on the ski team last year taught him a lot about skiing. It was really nice for all of us to be able to go skiing.  There will be more in our future.
We have more snow predicted tonight and tomorrow.  Bring on the snow.  White Christmases are the best.

Now for MMMM:
Christmas music so here goes:

Home Free with I'll Be Home For Christmas:

Home Free with Silent Night:

Eartha Kitt with Santa Baby:

Have a great Week!

Tuesday Randoms

Here we go:

• Got the boys haircuts.  I let Turbo direct the hairdresser for his cut.  He almost needs another cut.  She didn't take off very much.  Even he's not totally happy with it.
• I got all the clothes folded and put away last night.  They all got washed Saturday and Sunday.  Now there are just sheets to wash, fold and Towels to wash and fold. Laundry, just another never ending job.

• We have wind right now.  Like 45-60 MPH gust type wind.  Makes this seem much more realistic:

• Need to decide when we are making cookies.  Christmas isn't complete without cookies. Chocolate chip, sugar and maybe oatmeal?  Hey, it's cookies, just about any kind will get eaten.

Have a great week all!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Day of Infamy

Today holds many meanings for many people.  It's Monday.  It's December 7. Pearl Harbor day.  Also the day my father died 42 years ago. It's just a bit more poignant that this will be my first Christmas without my mother. So yes, a day of infamy.

On a brighter note, I got to have a fun Christmas party with friends last night--a kind of girls night happy holidays kind of party. There was a gift exchange, appetizers that made up a snacky type dinner and wine.  A wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.

We also put up or tree.  We cheated a bit and bought a tree instead of going to the mountains to get the tree, but time and motivation are on the short side this year.  Thus the lot bought tree. Pictures later this week.

Now for the Music part pof the program:  Christmas theme of course!
Home Free with Do You Hear What I Hear:

Home Free with O Holy Night:

Have a wonderful week!

Random Tuesday--Hello December!

Wow.  Where exactly did this year go? I swear just yesterday it was summer and now I blinked and it's the Holidays. Note to self, cease blinking, nothing good happens when I blink...

Anyway on to the random:

• The countdown is on for Christmas.  The boys got to start the countdown calendar.  Best investment I ever made.  So much easier to explain to them when they were little how long it was until Christmas.t been a while since I had a voyeur spider in my shower.  HTis one made me laugh though:

•  Thanksgiving was wonderful.  Tons of people, food and we managed to avoid some of the dishes by using disposable plates.

•  I'm asking for an exercise bike for Christmas.  We want to get the spare room set up as a hobby room and the bike can go there.  There will be a TV and I can pedal through episodes.  Convenient exercise is exercise I will be more likely to do.  Also it won't make my knees and ankles hurt like running does.
• However, with proper motivation, any exercise is appealing:

• Those are push ups I could do.  For a while anyway.

Have a wonderful week everybody!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

November Ends

After the holiday weekend we just had, it's kind of nice to be back to work.  We had a wonderful time, but it was busy and sort of exhausting.
Tons of turkey was eaten, lots of laughter flowed, good times with friends and family were had and there is still turkey leftovers to enjoy.
Now it's time to gear up for Christmas.  Three weeks until we get a two week vacation.  Working at a university that shuts down over the Christmas break is wonderful.

Some Cards Against Humanity was played--the adults even got told we were being too loud by the kids. Tasty adult beverages were consumed--maybe in amounts not quite good for us. And we want to do it all over again next year.

Now for MMMM.  Freebie week so here goes:
A Thousand Horses with Drunk Dail:

Brothers Osborne with Stay a Little Longer:

Luke Bryan with Kill the Lights:

Have a great week!

Thanksgiving Tuesday

Time to get a bit random before Thanksgiving.

• We had a fabulous sunrise this morning.  I love living somewhere we can see these lovely colors:

• I got a batch of rolls made last night, along with a batch of sugar cookies and dinner.  Go me!  The rolls are for Thanksgiving, the cookies were for Turbo--he made a cookie cutter in shop class and got extra credit of he took a cookie cut with said cookie cutter to he teacher.  I think it was a way for the teacher to get free cookies.
• This has to be the best way to cook a turkey:

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving everyone!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Thankful Monday

Well, here we are the Monday before Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to fell thankful for this year, but also a lot to feel sad about as well. 
We are currently all healthy.  The boys are managing to do well enough in school.  Nick and I are doing well at work.  We had some very good times this summer--a trip to Jackson Hole Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, days up four wheeling, trips to the lake to kayak, some camping thrown in for fun. It's good to remember the fun we had.
As for this weekend, I accomplished the laundry.  I made cinnamon rolls with a friend for the up coming holiday.  Made plans to manage the controlled chaos that is the end of this week.  There will be 19-21 people at our friends house and she and I will be working together to keep the chaos at a minimum.  It's going to be so much fun!

And now for some thankful songs for MMMM:
Josh Turner with Everything is Fine:

Darius Rucker with This:

Again Darius Rucker with Alright:

Happy thanksgiving all!

Cold Tuesday

Yes, people, it's cold here.  We got snow last night and there is wind out there and it's frigid.  We can safely say winter is here.  At least it came with the white stuff.  Cold is so much easier to handle if there is snow on the ground too.
Now for the random:

• Bruiser has a concert at school this week.  I think I have heard most of the songs he will be singing.  The kid likes to sing. It should be a cute concert.
• Going to be a busy end of the week.  Bruiser's concert, then Bruiser has a birthday party to attend at the bowling alley, and on Sunday we are heading over to our friend's house to make cinnamon rolls for thanksgiving week.  And I get to sneak a round of laundry in there too.
• And somewhere in there butter rolls need to be made--2 batches.  Thanks goodness for the bread maker--it whips up the dough in no time.
• As to the whole red cup at starbucks thing.  Ugh, people, it's just a cup.  Not the holy grail.

• I need chocolate.  That's something to be concerned about.  Or wine.  I could use some wine.

Have a good week all!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Monday With Music

We didn't mange too much this last weekend.  It was quiet and not too stressing.
However, Friday, Turbo had an incident at school.  He had some friends that had been teasing him--ribbing him by calling him a girls name similar to his name.  He finally had enough and turned and socked the kid in the face.  Not the most desired reaction.  With the zero tolerance policy at school now he got suspended for 5 days. He will be at the Youth Crisis Center and be able to keep up with his school work, so it could have been worse. Junior high aged kids are so hard to deal with.

On another note, Bruiser lost another tooth this weekend.  One on the bottom.  Two more are loose.  The poor kid could be toothless by Christmas.

Not much else to share. Looking forward to the festivities that kick off next weekend with the annual cinnamon roll baking for Thanksgiving.

Now for Music.  The theme is Big Band era music.  Not music I am all that familiar with so here goes:
The Andrews Sisters with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy:

Benny Goodman with Sing, Sing, Sing:

And Bobby Darin with Mack the Knife:

Have a good week all--we look to get snow and almost blizzard conditions.  Fun no?

Tuesday and It's Random

Hey, Hey, Hey!  It's Tuesday.  And we are one day closer to the Holiday season.  Although, the holiday season has already hit the stores.  I keep hearing the ads that promise the lowest prices of the season for the coming weekend. Either things are already as low as they will go, or someone is fudging the prices. Advertises annoy me.

Now on to the random that is floating around in my brain:

• Bruiser lost his top front tooth last night.  We hit it with oragel, numbed it up good and Nick gave it a yank.

• And presto, no more tooth.  He now has an adorable lisp when he talks.
• And of course the tooth fairy came and left him money for it.
• He has three other loose teeth.  Poor kid is going to be toothless for Christmas.

• So, we have most of the plans for Thanksgiving set right now.  Just the grocery shopping and cooking to do.  The busier I am the better for this first holiday season without my mom.
• We have snow in the forecast for tonight.  3-7 inches.  It's not going to fall vertically.  It will be horizontal snow.  Wind does that sort of thing to snow.
• Exactly when did my boys get so big?

• I do love them though.  Crazy, annoying, lovable, boys!

Have a wonderful week everybody!

Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Routine Monday

Yep, things are starting to settle into something resembling a routine again.  Not a humdrum one either.  I still miss my mother at the oddest of times and the the smallest of things will remind me of her, but we are all coping as well as can be expected.  The holidays will be a bit rough, but hopefully we will be busy enough not to dwell on her not being here and be able to remember her joy in being with us.
Nick went Pheasant hunting Saturday morning.  He brought home two birds and they were delicious. He fully intends on going again. He might even be able to go duck hunting with the same friend he went with on Saturday.  Nick is a bit excited about that.
Bruiser's heel is mending up well.  He will have some lovely scars, but if that's the worst, then we are doing OK.  He keeps growing though. The size 6 pants he is wearing are starting to get just a bit tight  and short.  Time to roll him into the size 7 stuff. At least I kept most of it from when Turbo wore it.
Turbo.  Turbo is trying very hard at school.  Math is still biting him, but he isn't failing it at the moment.  He's doing well in his other classes.  And right now he's not failing anything. A momentous occasion. He is still video game obsessed, but loves it when I read to him on our road trips.  Strangely, he has discovered the fantasy section in the school library.  He is liking it so much that he asked me to buy him a book for his Kindle.  Actually a three book set for his Kindle. Actual books with chapters and no pictures. I was so thrilled.

Now on to music:
Freebie week so here we go:
Home Free with Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget:

Dallas Smith with Kids With Cars:

Chris Jansen with Better I Don't:

Have a great week all!

Monday Music

And here we are after a fun Halloween Weekend.  The boys both ended up trick or treating (the lure of free candy was too much for Turbo to resist).  It was a fun evening with friends and family--or in our case family who are very good friends.
Thanksgiving was discussed.  We have plans in place so the hole my mom has left will not be as gaping.  I think Christmas will be more difficult.
We have more snow predicted for this week. Fall is over here.  We do need to rake some leaves.  But only if we beat the snow.  If not, we will be raking in the spring.
And now for MMMM.  Movie soundtracks is the theme this week.  Let's see what we can do with this:
From Top Gun, Kenny Loggins with Danger Zone:

From The Breakfast Club, Simple Minds with Don't You Forget About Me

Footloose:

And Blake Shelton's 2011 Version:

Have a great week all!

Hodgepodge--Thought Provoking

1. October 21, 2015 is Back to the Future Day. Did you see the movie? The sequels? In the second film, Doc takes Marty into the future to prevent Marty's future son from making a mistake. They leave 1985 and land on a 'skyway' on October 21st, 2015. So tell us, what were you doing in the fall of 1985?
I have seen the Back to the Future movies multiple times. My kids love them. I have only seen them on video and on TV. 
Now let's see fall of 1985...I was 12 and in 7th grade. I was a nerdy bookworm, the quiet girl in the second hand clothes that was totally not cool. The social jungle that middle school can be was not a good place for me, so I escaped into books. The library was my favorite hangout.

2.  If time travel were possible, would you want to go to the future? The past? 
I'm tossed on this one.  Seeing certain events of the past would be interesting, I do enjoy history, but the temptation to change things would be hard to resist.  As for the future, well, I'm not sure I would want to know what happened to me so much.  Again the temptation to change things would be overwhelming when I came back.  That's if there was a return trip on the mix.

3. We're not flying cars, but some of the technology imagined in the 80's film has indeed come to pass in real life 2015-flat screen TVs on the wall, tablets, fingerprint recognition, video conferencing, online banking, 3-D movies, motion controlled video games, drone cameras, and smart glasses (Google glass).  Do you worry technology is growing at a rate so fast we'll soon be unable to keep up with it's demands? Do you think the Internet does more harm than good? 
People are adaptable.  Technology will keep progressing as long as people have the imagination to ask the question and then go find the answer.
the internet does no more harm or good the TV does.  Look at the questions asked with every technology advance, radio, Movies, TV.  There are always critics that question the benefit and the downsides to each one.  The internet is a bit more pervasive, but still just a tool.

4. Your favorite dish prepared in a slow-cooker? Your favorite fast food? 
I love corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot. 
I love a good crispy chicken sandwich, from any of the fast food places really.  On occasion I like a burger too.

5. No time like the present, down time, face time, pressed for time, in the nick of time, make time, mark time, or just in time...which timely saying most relates to your life right now? 
No time like the present.  With the passing of my mother and looking at all the projects she left behind, going and doing the things I have on my bucket list hold a lot more appeal.  I don't want to look back and say if only...

6. Tell us about a place you went as a child or younger person that's no longer there or is now something else. How does that make you feel?
My high school is now a lovely grassy area.  My hometown built a new high school and demolished the old one. I feel a bit sad.  there was a renovation project on the high school during my freshman year.  Those renovations lasted less than 20 years. And the kicker is the new high school needs repairs and expanding already.

7. Describe your comfort zone.
I have a select group of friends and I like to get together with them regularly. I like being at home.  There is a nice routine we are getting back into and that is comfortable.


8. Insert your own random thought here.
It is a dreary, wet day here.  I'm not sure if it got cold enough for the rain to fall as snow last night.  It might have.  Honestly, I think we will have snow by Halloween.  We usually do. Beginning of November at the latest.  Of course it could snow for Halloween.  One year we got a foot of wet heavy snow in about 3 hours Halloween night.  There were some very wet trick or treaters that year.

Tuesday, Tuesday

So, on with Tuesday Randomness. 

• Parent teacher conferences went better than I thought they would. Bruiser got glowing reviews.  He is reading above his grade level and doing Math just fine.  He gets along with the kids and his teacher loves him.  All around good reviews.
• Turbo got better reviews overall than I thought he would.  He still has issues with focusing in class.  He tends to space out, but he's pleasant and cooperative in class.  He has a few classes to catch up in still, got to pull those Ds up some more, but he's working on it without much complaint. 
• The boys watch for VW Bugs all the time.  However, I put a stop to slug bug when Turbo slugged me while I was driving.  Now we call it. I did enjoy this though:

• Very good Question:

• I must admit, I'm looking forward to Halloween this year, as long as the weather holds. THe chances of snow before then are good though. We actually have a 50% chance of snow tonight.  It won't stick, but it will most likely fall.
• And now for the Halloween nod for the day: 

Everyone have a great day!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Another Weekend Bites the Dust

Yeah, so another weekend down and while we did stuff, not much of it was terribly spectacular. Our lives right now are sort of really mundane.
Bruiser did decide what he wanted to be for Halloween.  He has determined that a ninja is the costume of choice this year.  I'm OK with that.  No makeup to deal with. So we found a yellow ninja outfit for him to wear for the three events he will be hitting for Halloween.  Yep the kid has a busy run for Halloween Saturday.  Well, first there is the school party and costume parade Friday morning.  Then there is the downtown trick or treat Saturday morning.  And finally the main event, trick or treating with his cousins. That weekend will be busy.
Anyway, this last weekend saw us rearranging the kitchen slightly.  We put the icebox that came from my mother's childhood home in our kitchen.  I'm storing baking dishes in it. It looks really nice.  We also set up the TV and sound system my mother had in our living room.  Over all, we were happy with what we got done.

So MMMM is a freebie week.  Let's see what tricks my fancy:
Little Big Town with Painkiller:

Chris Janson with Power of Positive Drinkin':

Home Free (feat. the Oak Ridge Boys) with Elvira:

Have a great week!

Wednesday! Questions!

Let's Hodgepodge:

1. What's something that has recently 'tried your patience'?
Taking both boys to get dinner last night.  They just seem to spark off each other in the most annoying way when it's just the three of us.  Drives me nuts. I can take either of them out separately and have a fine time.  take them together and I end up snapping at them and they end up poking at each other and it has come close to tears at times. Mine and theirs.

2. Do you think patience comes to us naturally or is it something you have to learn as you grow? On a scale of 1-10 generally how patient are you? (1=I blow up at the drop of a hat and 10=I've got all the time in the world).
Some people are naturally more patient, but being patient can be learned. I'm maybe a 4-5 on the patience scale in certain situations (like what was mentioned above).  However in other situations my patience is more like a 6-7. Depends on the annoyances around and what I have to be patient about.

3. Share about a time when you felt like you could fly. Or a time you wished you could fly. Or a time you felt like you were flying.
Holding each of my boys for the first time was a flying moment. That first time meeting face to face is incredible.
To feel like flying--going down a hill on cross country skis, as close to flying as I'll get aside from getting on a plane.

4. Your favorite song with the word fly in the title or lyrics, or your favorite song that relates to flying in some way?
I like Fly over States by Jason Aldean:

5. What's in your fall picnic basket and where are we picnicking in your neck of the woods this time of year?
We would have the fixings for trailside burgers and hotdogs. We would find a place to stop and have a small campfire and cook up burgers and hotdogs.  They taste so much better in the mountains. We would of couse be headed up into the mountains:

6.  Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping...which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today? 
Electrical.  Ours needs to be updated in our house adn if we could do it ourselves it would save tons of money.  Nick can do the little stuff, but changing the whole service is more than he can do.

7. What's something you think is too expensive to justify buying lately? 
I finally broke down and got an ipod.  We have been limping along with an old mp3 player from Dell that's at least 10 years old.  We can no longer add music to it because the software isn't updated anymore. So I went ahead and got an ipod touch. Not a huge fan of Apple stuff, but admittedly, there is nothing else on the market that is close to them in mp3 players.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 
I was such a laundry slacker this weekend.  I finally got all the baskets folded last night.  Put away too. I still have towels to do, but that will hopefully get done tonight. This frees up next weekend for doing something fun. Now to come up with something fun to do.

Randomness

Whoot!  Monday is over! Let's get all random on Tuesday, shall we?!

• Bruiser's left heel is healing.  He still has a significant area that is lacking in skin, but it is healing. It isn't slowing him down at all.
• The boys get two and half days off school this week.  Parent teacher conferences are coming. Still not a fan, but Turbo has managed to catch up so he's not failing his classes now.  I gave him an incentive.  We have had a Playstation 2, but it recently gave up the ghost.  We still own several games, so if Turbo can get all his grades to a B or better, we will be replacing the Playstation 2 console. Turbo had a few Ds to better, but we are just thrilled that he's not flunking multiple classes right now.
• Not really concerned about Bruiser's Parent Teacher conferences.  He seems to be sailing along with flying colors.
• I live with guys:

• I need to have a conversation with the boys and see what they want to dress up as this Halloween.
• A protest I can get behind:

And with that, have a great week!
Join in on the random fun  with  Stacy.

Monday, Again

And another Monday rolls around. I sorta slacked this weekend.  The laundry is sitting at home waiting to be folded and put away.  Yeah, didn't want to do it yesterday.
I did make a pretty good stew last night though.  Not that Bruiser ate any of it. Oh, well, 75% approval on dinner is doing pretty good. 
But now it's Monday.

Today's strike is my mouse batteries died.  At least I hope that's all it was.  Now the challenge is finding batteries to replace the dead ones.  The hunt is on.

As for MMMM:
Tim McGraw with Top of the World

Luke Bryan with Strip it Down:

Have a great week!

Tough Questions

Let's do the questions:

1. It's October so let's get this out there first thing...have you jumped on the all-things-pumpkin bandwagon? How so?
Not really.  Not a fan of lattes and such, so no pumpkin spice from that source.  I do enjoy making Pumpkin Pie bread, but am not motivated that way yet. Truly, I like pumpkin pie and the pumpkin bread I make, but that's about it for the pumpkins.

2.  "We have more power than will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible." Francois Duc De la Rochefoucauld  

What's something you once thought impossible, but in hindsight see as more a matter of lack of will?
Tough one.  I guess public speaking is one of these for me.  I like to think it's impossible, but It's more I just hate, loathe, despise it. I can do it if necessary, but I tend more toward avoidance if at all possible.

3. The rose is America's National Flower, but every state also has its own (click here to see the list). Are you happy with yours? If you were in charge what would you declare your state's flower? If you're outside the U.S. what bloom would you like to see labeled as your country's national flower?
For Wyoming the flower is the Indian Paintbrush.

It's a pretty flower and it grows just about anywhere.  Not a bad choice.

4. What have you lost interest in recently?
Cable TV.  Or TV with commercials.  We have gone over to the Netflix side.

5. In your opinion, who's the best living musician? 
I don't really follow music that close.  There are some amazing guitar players out there and some amazing singers, but I don't know who I think is the best.

6. S'mores-love 'em or no? Ever make them indoors? Last time you sat around an outdoor fire? Are making s'mores and sitting round a fire pit on your autumn bucket list? Do you have an autumn bucket list?
I don't care for S'mores.  Too sweet.  I like the marshmallows toasted but not added to chocolate and graham crackers. We only make them when we go camping. A campfire is necessary.
No real autumn bucket list.  I am looking forward to the first snow and making a big pot of chili.

7. Your favorite small town? Why? 
Define small town.  According to the Urban dictionary (yeah, highly credible, but let's go with it) A small town has 200-800 people in it. That is a very small town.  We have those littered all over Wyoming.  We call them blink and you miss them towns. I haven't been in any long enough to have a favorite.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 
Bruiser was chosen by his class to be on the student council at his school.  He was excited about it until this morning when he had his first meeting.  He was a bit upset, but he calmed down and did OK once he was there.  Poor kid hates doing new things until he's in the middle of it and then he's fine.  A bit of my introvert tendencies coming out there.