Writer's Workshop: Comfort

Prompt #5: List 7 things that bring you comfort.

1. The cozy feeling that my living room gives me.  Yes, our current living room is quite cozy, aka small. I like the feeling that it is nestled around me.  I think it make my hubby just the slightest bit claustrophobic. But I like it, especially in the winter time.


2. Reading a good book.  Or reading several good books. I like reading from real books and from my Kindle.  It's kind of an addiction. It lets me escape stress and not worry about my problems for a while.  I love knowing I can dive into a book and feel at home with an old favorite.

3. Chili, clam chowder, ham and bean soup, chicken and dumpling, chicken and noodle and beef stew are comforting.  Not exactly the most healthy, but oh so yummy.

4. A hug from one of my guys is comforting.  Sometimes the timing is strange, but I do love hugs from them.

5. My warm flannel pajamas are comforting.  Being able to snuggle up and be warm and settled in to read for the winter--bliss!

6. Having Freya, my cat come snuggle down on my lap is comforting.  She is a total cat in that she snuggles on her terms, but she does snuggle frequently and it's lovely.

7. Being around family.  As much as family can drive you nuts, I do love being around mine.  I miss my mother all the time since she passed and am grateful we still have Nick's folks and that my boys have a good relationship with their grandparents. That we are also friends with members of the family is a bonus.

So there are 7 things that bring me comfort. What are yours?

Hodgepodge, the Leftovers

 

1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?
I am a better person if I have an outlet for the thoughts and ideas and such that float around in my brain.  Also, it's nice to know I'm not isolated in my bubble here, there are others who feel the same way I do about family, friends, and life.

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?
We do eat our leftovers, but we also don't drag them out too far.  I love to make what I call leftover casserole: layer stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy in a casserole dish and then bake til heated through.  It's really good, like a bowl of thanksgiving dinner all together.

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?
'Me Time' for me consists of reading, taking a long hot soaking bath, a night out with the girls, a solo trip to the thrift stores, but mostly reading.  Time for me to just recharge and be a girl without all the guy stuff I'm constantly surrounded by.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?
They usually want someone to listen, not judge, be a sounding board.  I listen really well.

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.
The dusty smell of a windy, hot summer day.  We had a house outside of town and my parents planted lots of trees and I and my brother got the dubious pleasure of water those trees in the summer.  It was not a quick process.  I spent lots of time outside watering...

6. Insert your own random thought here.
This weekend we are hoping to get up to the mountains to go Christmas tree hunting.  It's one tag we are sure to fill. With the move next spring, we probably won't be able to do a tree hunt next year.  hunting on a lot is not early as challenging, or fun. But we will have hot chocolate, a tramp in the snow and end up with a lovely tree after our excursion this weekend.

Tuesday adn Random

Hey, everyone!  How was the holiday?  Did you have a wonderful, family filled Thanksgiving? We did.  Then we made a flying trip to Casper to visit the new house and get Nick settled for the week.  He will be back here on Friday.  This being split between two towns is a bit confusing, but only til next June once the boys finish this school year.  And on to the random:

• Turbo started swimming for the high school team.  He swam last year for the Junior high and his fisrt comment about the high school is is was way more organized.  He seems to be one of two freshmen swimming this year.  The other freshman is also in his science class. Go Turbo!
• We got Nick a small tree for the house in Casper so he could feel festive for the season:

• It's not huge, but at least he has a tree.
• I feel just like this:

•  And I always forget the 2000s when I'm thinking back in time:

• And for a final funny for today, You truly can't unsee it:

Have a great week!

Whoa, Survived the Holiday

Well, that was a weekend. We did Thanksgiving up right and then made a flashing trip to the house in Casper.  Nick is working up there this week and this way he got some company on the trip up. Now for some Thanksgiving pics yes?

Bruiser made an epic blanket fort

Making cinnamon rolls

Yummy goodness

The beautiful sunrise prior to Turkey baking.

Snacking goodness

Turkey deliciousness

This "kids" table

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving.

Now on to MMMM.  It's a freebie week so here's what I have been listening to recently:
Danielle Bradbery with Sway:

Midland with Make A Little:

Granger Smith with Happens Like That:

Have a great week!!

Writer's Workshop: Thanksgiving Recipe

2. Share a Thanksgiving recipe you will be cooking up this month.

OK so we have been doing thanksgiving with Nick's cousin for...4 years this year.  We have tons of family and friends over for edibles and fun.  There are two turkeys cooked and then all the fixings.  Nick's cousin cooks one turkey and since we live in town, we cook the other.  we smoked the turkey for two years, but last year and this year we will be roasting it.  It is a day and a half process as we brine the turkey at least overnight before roasting it to perfection.

To start with I make a simple brine with 4 boxes of vegetable broth, 1 cup kosher salt and 2 tbsp. black pepper corns (whole).  All of this is added to a pot and heated to dissolve the salt.  I then add ice to cool the brine and bring up the liquid content, you need enough to cover the turkey.  We use a 5 gallon beverage cooler (one you can put a drink in and dispense from the spout) lined with a garbage bag.  The turkey is prepped, all the giblets and the neck removed and then placed in the cooler.  the cooled brine is poured over the turkey (adding enough water to cover the bird).  Then the garbage bag is tied closed the turkey goes in our unheated garage. It stays nice and cool out there so the turkey can brine for 12-24 hours depending on how organized you are.

Then thanksgiving morning the bird is taken out of the brine, rinsed and spiced to roast.  Our turkey always turns out juicy and delicious.

Nick is the guy to do the cooking.

The year we smoked the turkey--was super tasty

Last year's bird was really good.

This year the plan is to do much the same to the bird.  It always tastes so very good.

Hodgepodge

 

1. What takes you out of your comfort zone?
Social interaction with people I don't know, public speaking, having to be outgoing.  I am such an introvert.

2. Your least favorite spice? Cayenne.  A necessary spice in some cooking, but way to spicy in large amounts.

3. What's a small change you'd like to make?
Getting more active.  It's hard to be active when the weather doesn't cooperate for walking and such, but I need to up my activity level in one form or another.

4. Do you enjoy visiting historic homes? If so, of the homes you've visited which one was your favorite? What historic home near you is open to visitors? Have you been? Southern Living rounded up eleven of the best in the southern part of the US and they're as follows-

Monticello (Jefferson's home in Virginia), Nathaniel Russel House (Charleston SC), Swan House (Atlanta), Ernest Hemingway's home (Key West), The Biltmore (Vanderbilt home in Asheville NC), Mount Vernon (Washington's home in Virgina), San Francisco Plantation (Garyville, Louisiana), Windsor Ruins (Port Gibson Mississippi), Longue Vue House and Gardens (New Orleans), Whitehall (Palm Beach FL), and Pebble Hill Plantation (Thomasville GA)


Have you been to any on the list? Of the homes listed which would you most like to visit?
I like the idea of historic homes, but have not really visited any.  The ones around our neck of the woods are almost always museums and only open seasonally.

It might be nice to visit Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans.


5. What's something you think will be obsolete in ten years? Does that make you sad or glad?
I was reading an article about this just yesterday.  It said checks, stick shifts, and keys.  I think cable TV is doomed, even Satellite subscriptions are doomed.  On demand viewing will take over and in a way that makes me happy.  I didn't like having to pay for tons of channels I never watched for the 50 or so that had programming we did watch.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 
The local library had it's annual fall used book sale.  I usually go with a friend and pick up a few books.   This year both boys expressed interest in going and both of them actually got more books than I did. I love that both of my boys have discovered the joy of reading a good book.

Tuesday Randomness

Hey!  It's Tuesday!  Comes around every week.  Thankfully it's not Monday, but it is still too far to the weekend. Let's get all random, shall we:

• Turbo starts swimming at the end of the month.  He's still duking it out with his French grade, but he's trying. He has a crazy schedule and not much of a Christmas vacation with practice and meets, but he should enjoy it.
• I live in a house of guys.  This is very appropriate:

 

• It is so hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving.  Where is the time going? It is zipping by far faster than it should.
• I looked into it and it was 8 years ago this month I started blogging.  I have made some wonderful friends, seen some come and go, but I still enjoy having a connection.

• Just a thought, why can't Mac n Cheese boxes be easier to open?  Why don't cereal bags have zip tops?
• A happy Thanksgiving to all.

Have a great week!

MMMM--One Hit Wonders

Hey!  I got chosen as spotlight dancer for this Monday's Music Moves Me.  I chose for the theme one hit wonders from your high school days.  THis should be fun!  here are my one hit wonders from high school:

For 1988: Bobby McFerrin with Don't Worry Be Happy:

For 1989: The Belle Stars with Iko Iko:

For 1990: Alannah Myles with Black Velvet:

And finally for 1991: Marc Cohn with Walking in Memphis:

Have a great week!

Writer's Workshop: Thankful

Prompt number 2: Write a list of 6 things you are thankful for.

1. My family.  I have three wonderful guys in my life.  My Hubby, Nick, who puts up with my craziness and loves me anyway.  Turbo, my teenager, who has not yet hit the stage of not wanting to be seen in public with his mother.  He goes grocery shopping with me and we have a fun time with it. Bruiser, 8, a quirky, smart, stubborn kid who enjoys mock sword fighting, being outdoors and YouTube. They make my life so infinitely better.
2. My friends.  I have three main friends who make sure I don't become so introverted I never leave the house. I adore these ladies and am so thankful I have them as friends.
3. Our home, be it in Laramie or in Casper.  I am happy we found a home that we all like in our new town and that we were able to keep our old home so we still have a place to stay when we come see family and friends.
4. Traditions, both old and new.  Over the last 4 years, we have developed some new Thanksgiving traditions.  It's almost a week long thing now.  It starts the Sunday before with a massive cinnamon roll bake and then we plan the shopping for the Wednesday evening gathering.  Dinner is light snacks, meats, cheese crackers, veggies, dip and such and the adults gather and play Cards Against Humanity.  Much fun and laughter is had.  Two turkeys are cooked up the next day along with all the fixings and the feast is on.  Friday morning the ladies head off the tackle the sales while the guys ride herd on kids and digest. All in all it is a great time with family and friends that I treasure and am so thankful to be a part of.
5. Thankful for my sound machine. It's a nifty little machine that plays the sound of rain and that helps me sleep a bit better.
6. My books.  I love escaping into a good book and I have several that I love to read, both on my Kindle and on my shelves.  Moving the ones on my shelves will be a chore, but I love having them.

So what are you thankful for?

Out of the Rut Hodgepodge

 

1.  In a rut, in a jam, in the groove, out of sync, off balance, out of touch...which saying best fits some area of your life currently (or recently)? Explain.
I have been trying to get out of the rut I have fallen in since my mother died two years ago.  With work, life and general inertia, the rut has become quite deep.  Both Nick and I have been trying to find ourselves and each other again. We are having conversations about something other than work and the kids.  We are trying to do things out of the house, even if it's as simple as going for a walk.  Climbing out of a rut is not as easy as you would think.

2. What is it about somebody else's style of work (coworker/employee/shared volunteer project/household chore) that makes you crazy? Why?
I have a certain order that I do things and watching others do the same task, like dishes or laundry and mess up the order drives me nuts.  I know that the results will be the same--clean clothes or dishes--but I can't watch someone else to it differently from me.

3. What's a tradition that always makes you feel at home?
Talking around a kitchen table.  Growing up, some of the best times were when the adults would gather around the table and talk and tell stories of when they were growing up. Now, I feel quite content to do the same thing, only now I'm telling the stories and it's my 14 year old who is enthralled.

4. A favorite song with a girl's name in the title or lyrics? Any reason why this is a particular favorite?
I have always liked Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys.  Here is a cover by Home Free, an a cappella group that they sang with the Oak Ridge Boys:

5. Share a favorite quote, verse, or saying relating to gratitude or thanksgiving.

6. Insert your own random thought here.
Last February I participated in my very first Pop-up Paint Party.  I had so much fun and have attended several since then.  However my first painting is now up in the new house:

I think it looks quite nice there.

Have a great Wednesday!

Tuesday Randoms

Hey, it's snowy and foggy here today.  The snow is normal, but the fog is a bit odd for us.
Last night it looked like this:

Quite the winter wonderland here in good old Wyoming.

Now for the randoms:

• The boys are out of school today due to voting. Not that there is much of a voting day, but it's best not to confuse the masses by changing the calendar.
• Three weeks to Thanksgiving.  It's coming so fast.

• It that time of year again, I need to make the picture calendar for Nick's folks.  They enjoy the calendar and get to see pictures of our year with it.  I've been making one for 6 or 7 years now. Shutterfly is wonderful for this.

And I just don't have as much random as I thought I would, so have a great day!

Snow, Yep snow

We have snow here today.  Have had snow off and on since Saturday evening.  The football game was played at the university in a very wet slushy snow. So yeah, weather.

In other news, Nick has started his part time in Casper, where we bought our new house and will all be moving next June.  For the winter he will be there a couple of weeks a month, weather permitting.

Bruiser had a birthday party to attend yesterday.  He had fun.  They held it at the local Gymnastics School.  A great way for kids to burn off energy.

And now for a moment of thanks:  I am thankful that the house buying process was painless for us.  I'm having my own issues with moving, but the process so far has not been difficult.  I am thankful for that.

Now for MMMM:
It's a freebie week so here goes:

Luke Bryan with Most People Are Good:

Walker Hayes with You Broke Up With Me:

Thomas Rhett with Unforgettable:

Enjoy the week, what ever weather mother nature throws at you!

Writer's Workshop: October Purchase

Prompt #5: Share your favorite October purchases!

Well, we made one major purchase this month.  A new house.  Or a new to us house. Well you get the idea.  Here it is:

There is a huge back yard:

Standing in the yard and looking back at the house.

Looking off the deck down into the yard.

I'm less than impressed with the dated kitchen, but that can be fixed:

There is tons of space and I'm not sure how we will fill it all.  We will make a valiant effort at it I'm sure.

Looking at the living room and dining area

The basement family room

The dining area

From the kitchen toward the dining area and the doors to the deck.

The bar area and extra family room.

So that was our big purchase in October.

Hodgepodge Kind of Day

 


1. What does/did Halloween look like at your house this year? Did you decorate? Pick pumpkins? Carve pumpkins? Expect trick or treaters? Wear a costume to a party or event? Make a costume? Feel glad you didn't have to come up with a costume? Cook a Halloween themed treat? Eat all the leftover candy?
So we didn't do Halloween up very big this year.  Bruiser dressed up:

We went trick or treating with cousins and Bruiser made out like a bandit. We didn't carve pumpkins or decorate at all.  with the new house buying and trips out of town for that, Halloween sort of lost out.

2. What are you waiting for? Elaborate
Life seems like a whole series of hurry up and wait right now.  We are waiting for swim season for Turbo, waiting for Thanksgiving, waiting for the school year to be over and waiting for the big move in June.  I know that the time will go faster than I want it to, but at the same time the waiting can get monotonous.

3. Do you wish you were friendlier, braver, more creative, more athletic, or something else? Explain.
There are times when I wish I was more extroverted.  New situations would be much easier to handle if I was.

4. When it comes time to paint are you a do-it-yourselfer or do you hire someone? What was the last paint job completed at your house? What room most needs painting now? How do you feel about wallpaper?
We are totally do-it-youselfers.  I don't mind painting, but Nick hates it.  The last paint job done at our house was Bruiser's room. We painted and put up a wainscoting.

Of course this was a couple of years ago.  The bathrooms both need to be repainted, but with us moving, I don't think they will be done any time soon.  Maybe the tenant will want to paint the upstairs one...


5. What is one specific thing you felt gratitude for in the month of October? 
I was grateful that the house buying process we went through was smooth and easy.  It had been 20 years since we last bought a house and the process was very smooth for us.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.
Last February we got a Siamese mix kitten. She is a character.  Very demanding, loud and a total klutz. We love her to death but she can be completely annoying when she wants something.  She loves to leap and dance after a toy when we dangle and swing through the air.  She plays fetch better than the dog. She is our Freya.