Meet me on Mondays

Time to do the get to know you thing with Java at Never Growing Old.  Get the questions from her, answer and then link up at her place.

1. What is your favorite way to eat chicken?  I have lots of ways I like to eat chicken--chicken fingers, chicken tacos, fried chicken, grilled chicken, chicken parmesan,  Honey Dijon chicken, There are just so many ways that chicken is good that picking just one way is next to impossible.
2. Have you decorated for Christmas yet? No.  We are waiting until Turbo gets back from New York to go get our tree--we cut our own in the mountains--and then we will decorate.  I am going to dig out the count down calendar for Turbo and Bruiser though.
3. What is your favorite article of clothing? Man these favorite questions are hard.  Right now with the cold weather we are having, I'd have to say my coat.  Not real fun, but necessary.
4. Do you pay your bills online or write checks the old way? We still send the bills snail mail. 
5. Do you make Christmas cookies?  I at least make on batch just before Christmas so Turbo, and now Bruiser, can leave cookies for Santa.  We also leave carrots for the reindeer.

Thanksgiving Hangover

We had a quiet, but good Thanksgiving.  Just three of us and the food was fabulous.  We made Jan"s Sushi Bar balsamic glazed brussel sprouts.  Oh man were they good.  They went really well with the Prime Rib we had.  I was going to have lobster too but well they are still in the freezer--I forgot.  Dinner was good anyway.
And today I got to go shopping.  I found some great deals and had a good time.  Sometimes shopping with friends is the best way to pass the time.
Now Nick and I just need to get the rest of the things we want to get for Turbo and Bruiser.  That is the fun shopping.  It will be crowded but nothing like what Kohl's had today.  I think the wait there was like an hour to check out.  Crazy.

Well Bruiser calls so have a good weekend everyone.  I'll leave you with a picture of Turbo in New York.

Turbo with Wyoming's state dinosaur--the Triceratops.

Wednesday Hodgepodge--Thanksgiving Edition

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower?  I don't think I would have by myself.  I would have gone with my husband but not on my own.

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?  On our honeymoon we took a boat out to Grand Bahama Island, a trip of about 6-7 hours.  It was fun.  Then on spring break in 2000 we took a fishing trip out into the gulf of Mexico.  That trip was a lot rougher.  Of our group of four (on a probably 25-30 person tour) I was the only one who did not hurl on the trip out.  The waves were rough.  I like going on boat trips, mostly.

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  Thanksgiving is spent with family-usually.  We aren't big on strict traditions.  Christmas has more for us than Thanksgiving.

4. What time is dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?  We are having dinner at around 4:00pm. We are doing a nontraditional dinner since Turbo and the grandparents are in New York.  It is just going to Nick, Bruiser and I.  We are having prime rib and lobster.  But with a traditional dinner there must be mashed potatoes.

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell....  Nope never have used one.

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and feet dragging, only to realize later it was a true blessing.  Just before I had Bruiser, the company I worked for was downsizing.  I knew that I was going to lose my job.  But now to years later and getting a full time position with the place I work now, I'm in a much better place--vacation, sick leave, benefits, the whole nine yards!

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned or french fried...which one's your favorite?  I love the hash browns that my husband makes in the mornings on the weekends.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  I just want to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  May the day be wonderful and full of things to be thankful for.


Now go link with Joyce and do your own Hodgepodge.

Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Thanksgiving might be just around the corner, but there is still time for random thoughts with Keely.  Grab the button and link up.

• Bruiser has been talking more.  He will say thank you and it is so stinking cute.  Makes doing anything for him much more fun.
• We have had the craziest weather.  One moments sunny and thawing, the next we can barely see across the street for the snow.  And wind, well we won't talk about the wind.
• And attention turns to the shopping after Thanksgiving.  I'm braving the crowds with a friend, but we refuse to go super early--we are leaving about 5:00am.  And we have at least an hour drive to the good stores.  So none of the 3:00am at the store stuff.  That's just ridiculous.
• Turbo is headed to the American Museum of Natural History today.  I was a little jealous about the pizza he's eating--love New York Pizza--but now I'm really jealous about the museum.  I was in New York when I was twelve and I know he's going to love the museum and planetarium.  Wish I could be there with him.
• I love the snow--but am much less fond of ice.  We have lots of ice.  Slippery stuff, ice.  I've almost bought it several times just walking from the car to work--a hike of about three blocks, parking at the university sucks--and I know the ice is not going to get better (at least until oh, you know, April, maybe May).
• Bruiser is loving being the center of attention while Turbo is gone.  And he is loving playing with the phone-either the land line portable or our cell phones.  Thank goodness we can't dial out long distance on the land line, or I'm sure he would find a way to call Indonesia.
• And once again the towels are mocking me.  I got just about everything else done for the laundry--except the sheets and they don't really count--but the towels.  I hate towels.
• We have an escape artist cat.  Piper loves to go outside.  She escaped just the other day and was pretty pissed when she came back in.  She kept giving us dirty looks.  It's not my fault it snowed, cat.  It's called winter and it's not going away until March--probably April, maybe May.
• Oh and I have a new mommy moment with Bruiser.  Thursday night last week I was giving him a bath and he stood up and was playing with the shower doors we have on the tub.  I was putting towels away and when I looked back at him he was holding something in his hand.  At first I thought it was a washcloth and did not want him to drip on the floor.  Than I realized that it was NOT a wash cloth.  He had pooped in the tub and was trying to hand it to me.  Fun.  What is it with the warm water=poop thing?

That about overs the random around here.  Go see Keely while she is still running this carnival.  Jen's hiatus just might be catching.

New York State of Mind

As I mentioned last week, Turbo is in New York City for Thanksgiving.  His grandparents took him out to see his uncle who lives in Brooklyn.
The trip there was an adventure all by itself.  They were delayed right away by fog in Denver.  The flight out of our little town was on a puddle jumper and turned out to be quite the roller coaster ride.  Poor Turbo threw up on the plane.  Papa almost threw up, it was that rough.
By the time they got to Denver they had missed their connecting flight to New York.  They got to wait about five hours to catch the 4:30 flight out.  So by the time they got to New York it was 8:30 our time and 10:30 out there.  But Turbo got to see the Statue of Liberty all lit up and the lights of Brooklyn too.  He thought that was really neat.
So after all that they made it to the big city.  Turbo has been to Coney Island and seen the aquarium and had pizza twice (which he really likes).  He is looking forward to doing more.
I miss him.  Things are quiet and we don't have to avoid random attack hugs.  I'm looking forward to his return.  And hopefully the return trip is less eventful than the departure trip.

Friday Confessional

 
OK, I need to get some stuff off my chest.  Confession time:

• I confess, the last load of laundry I washed sat in the dryer for a really long time.
• They were baby clothes for Bruiser.  
• He had others in his drawer.
• I got them out when I needed to dry something else.
• I'm really going to miss Turbo next week.
• At least once the quiet gets boring.
• For the first couple of days it will be blissful.
• I'm sure Bruiser will try his best to make up for the absence of his brother.
• Is it wrong that I looking forward to prime rib instead of Turkey next week?
• We have ice.  I hate ice.  I much prefer snow.  It was snow.  Now it's ice.
• My boob hurts.  The place I had the mole removed.  It looks pretty-seven stitches and all.
• Wearing a bra sucks right now.
• I was a bad mom last night and fed the boys corn dogs for dinner.  I had a peanut butter sandwich.  High nutrition.
• I'm still not sure what to get Bruiser for Christmas.  And not really certain he will really notice if he doesn't get a lot of stuff.
• I'll notice though.  Sigh.

Now go confess all and feel better going into the weekend--and don't do to much you will need to cinfess next week--or what ever.  Glamazon's got the confessional--go on.

Spin Cycle--Thanksgiving

 


This week--being so close to Thanksgiving, the Spin Cycle topic is of course Thanksgiving.  So here goes for this last (for a while, please, only for a while, Jen) Spin Cycle:
Things I'm thankful for:

• My family, all of them.  Nick, Turbo and Bruiser.  They bring so much fun and joy to my life.  I may be surrounded by boys, but it's fun and at times enlightening.  Other times it's baffling, but I muddle through.
• I'm thankful the the grandparents from both side live close enough to watch Bruiser now that I'm working full time.  It saves us untold amounts of money and it's so good for Bruiser to spend time with his Papa, Nana and Grandma.  We are lucky and blessed.
• I'm thankful that both Nick and I have good jobs, that use what we went to school for and allow us to spend time with our boys as needed.  We could have gone the big money route but then other people would be raising our boys because we would be working 60-70 hour weeks. Or always traveling.  We may not be making big money, but we are here and the kids know who we are.
• I'm thankful for the house we live in.  It's not the biggest on the block, but it's just right.  And our location is wonderful.  We are close to the downtown area in our town, close to Turbo's school, and close enough to ride our bikes to work when the weather permits. Nick might dream of a larger house, but I just see more work in a larger house.  So, I thankful for our just right house.
• I'm thankful for our friends.  I don't have a lot of close girl friends here in my small town, but I have a couple and I'm getting better at going out and doing things with them.  
• I'm thankful we have our health.  Nick and I complain about getting older and the issues that come with it but we are over all healthy and so are the boys.  I hope we can continue to enjoy our health.

Well there you have it--some of the stuff I'm thankful for.  I'm sure more will come to me, it always does, especially after reading the other thankful spins over at Jen's place.  Go see for yourself and find more things to be thankful for as Thanksgiving approaches.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 
Time to do the Hodgepodge with Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  Just a few random bits and pieces.  Perfect for this absolutely freezing Wednesday here in the Equality State.

1. What is the most amazing weather you've ever seen?  I have seen some fantastic sunsets, and had some beautiful sunny days, but the most amazing weather would have to be lightening storms.  The jagged bolts of lightening at night are just incredible.

2. What is a sound or noise you love?  Mom! or Daddy! coming from Bruiser when we get home from work.  Also the gentle breathing of sleeping boys.

3. Do you like seafood? What's your favorite seafood dish?  Love love love seafood.  So much so that New Years is spent in a orgy of eating seafood--shrimp, crab legs, scallops, lobster--all the good stuff, all day long.

4. What part of your day requires the most patience?  Morning--getting everyone up and ready, and myself ready too, to get out of the house on time.  Evenings are easier--Nick helps lots then, usually.  Mornings are pretty much all on me.

5. What's your favorite shade of blue?  The blue in all my boys eyes--a kind of slate blue that can look really gray at times.

6. Do people underestimate you?  Sometimes, but not too often.

7. When was the last time you had butterflies in your stomach?  Monday, before I had a mole removed.  Doctors make me nervous.  Excited butterflies?  When we went to get our new (to us) camper over Labor Day weekend.

8. Insert your own random thought here, and remember...I have a wooden spoon and I'm not afraid to use it.

My random thought:  Significant amounts of snow just screams for little boy foot prints.  The snow this morning called mightily to Turbo, and he didn't resist too hard.

Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Time for Tuesday's brain dump.  Keely hosts this to do so let's get to it.

• Last weekend Nick had control of the remote control and he stopped at Meet the Fockers.  Things were OK until the scene where the cat flushes the dog.  At that moment both boys lost their shit.  Turbo started crying and then Bruiser started getting upset.  I then decreed that that movie was off limits until both boys were, Oh I don't know, 25.  Not really my movie of choice.
• Got to go shopping this weekend with a real live friend--not my mom.  It was awesome!  I got stuff for Turbo and Bruiser and Nick for Christmas.  And got out of town and away from the guys for an entire day. Really, I can't remember the last time I was away from all the boys.  You know, it was before Bruiser was born.  Hard to get away form a nursing boy.  I tell you the day was glorious.  I need to do that more.
• I've mentioned that Turbo is going to New York for Thanksgiving but he leaves Saturday.  He's staying the night with Papa and Nana Friday night.  It gets more real every day.  I think he will be so busy he won't miss us, much.  I know I'll miss him, at least after the first couple of days. I hope he has a blast.
• Bruiser is talking more every day.  And getting more understandable all the time.  It's fun to hear his progression.  What's not so fun is his recent rejection of bedtime.  He sleeps OK, but getting there, the kid fights it all the way.
• I had a mole removed yesterday.  It was--not fun.  It still hurts and I got me lots of stitches out of it.  At least the mole won't catch on my bra any more--oh yeah the mole was at underwire level.  Some fun.
• The Capitol Christmas Tree was cut in Wyoming and is touring the state before going on to Washington.  It is here this afternoon.  We are taking to boys to see it.  Turbo got to help make ornaments to decorate it(all the school kids in Wyoming made ornaments) so we want him to see it come through town, to get an idea of how big it really is. 

Capitol Christmas tree leaving the Tetons.

So that about covers the random here.  Go see Keely, she's got lots more random at her place.

Meet Me on Monday

Java has Meet Me on Monday.  It's a get to know you kind of thing. I mean, no matter how well you think you know another blogger, what do you really know about them?
Anyponder, here are her questions:


1.  Do you eat Sushi?  No way!  I live entirely to far from the ocean to really trust sushi.  ALL fish is flown here, so is not truly fresh.  I might try it in a place where the fish can be fresh, but until then, nope not gonna do it.
2.  What kind of bath soap do you use?  Oh I have issues with bath soap.  I used to use Avon Skin so soft bath bar, but they stopped making it.  I have sensitive skin--the wrong stuff makes me itchy.  And I can't use Bath and Body works stuff.  I'm still searching for a soap that doesn't make me itch.  I might have found one0Olay, but I'm reserving judgment for a while longer.
3.  How often do you talk to your Mom?  Almost daily, she watches Bruiser three days a week and we often talk on the days she doesn't, but that doesn't mean we have to talk.  Love my mom to death, but she can make me crazy at the drop of a hat.
4.  What TV shows do you watch on a regular basis?  We watch Dirty Jobs, Bones, Mythbusters, NCIS, Pawn Stars, Swamp Loggers, Billy the Exterminator, What Not to Wear, and when we had BBC America, Top Gear.  Yeah the list is a bit guy show heavy, but then I live with lots of guys.  And we can't forget Scooby Doo in just about any form.
5.  Did you start Christmas shopping yet?  Yep.  I've shopped for Nick, Turbo and Bruiser.  I start collecting things about September/October.  Makes for less stress in December.  I just have to finish shopping for the boys, and take Turbo shopping for stuff for Nick and Bruiser.  Nick and I will have one major weekend when we will knock out most of the shopping.  Then Nick will spend the last weekend before Christmas shopping for me.  He's a typical guy and puts it off until the last moment--usually.