Tid Bits

On Friday my husband took my car in to get the tire fixed. As it turns out the tire that was on there was shot....unfixable as was the spare tire. So a few hours later and a new tire I am good to go again.

Saturday was a day of baking. If you have ever tried the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies found in the bakery of your local grocery store you will know these are not like most sugar cookies out there. They are soft and it is the icing that makes them sweet. I myself really like them...border line addicted to them. So I searched on Google to see if I could find a copy cat recipe for them....jackpot I did find not only one recipe but several. For the most part they are all the same except for one recipe that uses Pilsbury Vanilla Cake Mix. All the recipes call for leaving the cookie dough overnight, so this morning will determine if these recipes are close to the cookies you buy in the store or not. Tasting the unbaked cookie dough I do think they are going to be very close to the store boughten ones.

With Christmas just over the month away it is time for making cabbage rolls and perogies in my house...not this is the only time of the year I make them...but I HAVE to have them for Christmas or I might as well leave the house. A couple of weeks back I made a big batch of cabbage rolls enough for Christmas and then some. A week ago I made a batch of perogie dough stuck in the fridge (the dough rolls better in my past roller when cool). Well as it turned out I was so tired this past week that I was in bed earlier than usual and the perogie dough sat. So yesterday after making up my potato, cheese & onion filling I made up 6 of them for my daughter and I to try before making up the entire batch of dough. We were the guinee pigs to determine if the dough was still good or not. Verdict came back that the dough was fine and they tasted very yummy! So finished up making that batch of perogies. Still have to make some saurkraut ones for my hubby, a batch of potato cheddar & onion ones for my son and some more for us.

Christmas card making is coming along very slowly, I have made 3 or 4 cards so far. I have a few more supplies to make some cards so will be making a few more cards. I hope to be able to post a couple of pictures of the cards I create but not until I am ready to show the entire world. I have found some really good inpsiring ideas on th different crafting blogs that I visit. Next year I will be ready with everything I need to make most of my cards. I picked up another new craft punch last night - Martha Stewart's Christmas Tree. Nice thing is that it doesn't only have to be used at Christmas as it is just your everyday Spruce Tree. Yes I am very glad I picked up this punch, I nearly put it back....so many ideas of for using it now that I have it. I am very disappointed in the selection of scrapbooking/stamping supplies here in Prince Albert. I have found some really good suppliers on line that I think I will be shopping with as well as whenever I go to Saskatoon or Regina I will have to hit Michael's and some of the other scrapbooking/stamping stores.

Saved By a Flat Tire

Last night I left work to pick up my daughter then head to the grad meeting. Well I didn't make it to pick up my daughter or to the grad meeting. I had a flat tire on the way to get my daughter...limped into the closest gas station so I would have lots of light to change the tire, well so my son could change the tire. Called Michael and he came to his mother's rescue. When we pulled the spare out of the trunk found it was also flat but would hold air at least to get me home. So plans to attend the meeting changed.....I guess this flat tire was a way of preventing me to volunteer to head-up one the committees at least that is how I am looking at it. So in a way that flat tire was my saviour. I know there will be many more grad meetings and I do plan to attend....

So this morning I go out to the car and there it is flat....my spare has a slow leak. Even pumping it up this morning it would have been flat by the time I was done work. So I took the hubby's truck to work and he will take my car in to get the tire fixed. The men in my life are such wonderful guys.

New SpringWidget

Graduation is Coming!

Here it is November 20, 2008 and before I know it will be June 19, 2009 - Meagan's Graduation. Tonight is the first of probably many grad meetings. Tonight we sign up for the committees and if we are brave or in some cases stupid enough to volunteer to head up the committee tonight is the night. I am going there with the determination to not sign up to head anything but volunteer my time and that is all. Don't need the head ache of being the chair of some committee and dealing with the drama of this parent doesn't like this or that and so on....

Saturday Meagan and I are going to go looking at Graduation Dresses. I am going with camera in hand to take some photos of her dress choices so that her dad can see them as well as so she can do some process of elimination as well and hopefully come to a decision. I am sure this trip will be one of a few before she makes a final decision on a dress.

Not only is there the dress, the shoes and accessories to think about..there is the hair, the make-up, the nails...there is photos and supper to decide on. I want to get the photos booked as soon as possible so then it is done with...but which photographer to choose. Will do a bit of shopping around for this one...then there is the grad parties to think about and plan.

We'll have a grad party for Meagan at our house for the family & close friends most likely the week before grad. Meagan isn't sure if she is going to have a party with her friends at our place or not on the grad weekend...that we have lots of time to worry about...the lowest things on the pole right now.

Not only is there graduation to think about and plan there is the decisions of what she wants to do after she completes high school. Will she work for a year before deciding to extend her education or will she go on to extend her education in the fall and if so what will she apply for. Decisions, decisions....glad I don't have to make them all....but will advise her best I can.

My little girl is growing up, faster than I would like sometimes......

Snowflakes & Winter

This morning I awoke to a light snow fall that started sometime last night. Ever so lightly the snow flakes dance their way to the ground. The dusting of snow on the trees looks so pretty. I love the colors of Autumn but feel so abandoned by Mother Nature when the trees are bare of all their leaves...only a skeleton remaining to face the elements. Once winter arrives so many of the snowflakes find a new home on these bare branches covering them in a white velvety blanket to give them some shelter from the elements of winter.

If do like winter, just hate the really cold temperatures that we get with those fluffy little flakes we call snow. I look forward to days of making snowmen (they are one of my favorite things about winter), taking walks on a moon light night on the crisp snow (when its not too cold outside) or going snowmobiling over fresh fallen powder. I would like to try my hand at cross country skiing this winter.

I do believe that winter has arrived for the long stay now....prior to this we had snow but not a whole lot a bit more than a skiff but not a true ground covering.

Surprises

My daughter Brittany surprised me this afternoon when she called me. Asked if I would pick up the fixings for Taco's and Meagan would bring it home after school and they will make supper so it is ready for when I get home after work. What a nice surprise.

So on the menu is Soft & Hard shell Tacos, our home version of Taco Time's Mexi Fries Deluxe and tostito chips. I am hungry just typing my blog.....can't wait for 5pm to arrive now. 1 hr and 15 minutes to go....well I should get back to work, my coffee break is over now.

HiHo HiHo it's back to work I go, HiHo HiHo HiHo

Oh! I can't forget to mention it is Mickey Mouse's 80th Birthday today. 80 years ago today Mickey Mouse made his debut on the big screen in Steam Boat Willie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICKEY MOUSE!

Laughter The Best Medicine

Last night my husband and along with 4 of our friends took in the Ron James - Mental As Anything Show. If you don't know who Ron James is, he is a stand up comedian from the Maritimes. We laughed for 1.5 hrs straight....I laughed so hard that I was light headed. We had awesome seats second row from the front right in the middle. The last time we seen him we up in the balcony. I highly recommend his show to anyone that hasn't seen it. Having seen Ron perform 2 years ago he is still just as funny with very little repeats. We have watched him many times on the Comedy network and Comedy Now on TV but in person is soooooo much better.

Sometimes a good bought of laughter is all someone needs to light their mood/spirits. Laughter has an amazing effect on a person. For being tired for 3 days in a row this was what I needed.

Laughter is sometimes the best medicine around!

Rotary Craft Show

Saturday my friend and I took in the Rotary Craft Show at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre. There many different exhibits with crafts, candles, knitting to quilting and painting. There were people with their home business products such as Discover Toys, Watkins & Princess House Canada.

We spent the better part of 2 - 2 1/2 hours at the show. So many things to see and taste too. Even the SPCA had a display with a couple of their kittens waiting to be adopted to loving homes.

If only I had an unlimited budget where I could have spent what I really would have liked the things I could have purchased. I did pick up some face templates for my paper doll templates for scrapbooking...what a deal on those $1.00/sheet regular $9.99/sheet. There was one display of applique quilted wall hangings. Oh these were beautiful and the prices were really good. I got some really nice ideas for appliqueing if I ever find the time to try it out. So many nice pieces at this booth that it would be very hard to decide which to buy.

I did go with a budget in mind and I did stick to it even though I was tempted to purchase this purse from one booth. This lady does the home purse parties. I had heard of these but didn't know who in town did them....now I know. I have her card and will look at booking a party after Christmas sometime in the new year.

I picked up a couple of beautiful hand painted ornaments for the Christmas Tree.

My whole reasoning to attend the Rotary Craft Show was to pick up stamping supplies from a friend of mine who was there trying to liquidate her stock as she has closed her stamping business down to pursue other dreams. She was selling everything off at 50% off. Picked up a few more Christmas stamps, inks and embossing powders. I picked up a really good idea as well when it comes to remember which stamps, ink colors and embossing powders that I have. Stamp each stamp onto a sheet and put into a duo-tang that I can take with me when going looking for stamps. Also stamp the image and emboss it with the different colors making a note of which color is which and add this to the duo-tang as well. I also picked up some chalk coloring pencils to color in my stamped images. Now I have a few more options for my handmade Christmas Cards. This year I will try a few of them and hopefully next year I will be able to make enough for everyone on my card list.

So Tired

I am not sure why but the last two days I could fall asleep in a moment. I am sure if I closed my eyes I would be sound a sleep. I have been going to bed early each night and seemed to have slept the entire night. I am guess that I haven't slept very soundly.

It is 10:17 am and I feel like I could go back to sleep for at least another 8 hrs.

I just hope this isn't a sign that I am coming down with something. I get my flue shot on Tuesday and I can't afford to come down with anything before then.

Maybe it is my inner devil trying to get me to eat a bunch of junk food for those short term pick me ups!

Either way I am glad that tomorrow is Saturday and I can sleep in. Maybe that is all I need is a day to sleep in.

Winter Has Arrived

Old Man Winter has arrived here in Prince Albert yesterday. Yesterday morning it started to snow and didn't stop until it left about 1 inch of the fluffy white stuff. Prior to yesterday we only had a skiff of the stuff.

Time to dig out the toques, mittens, scarves, boots and snow suits. Soon there will be families of snowmen taking residence up in our yards. The kids will be digging out their tobogganing and waiting for enough snow to head out to the hill for a fun day of sliding.

Time to set up my back yard bird feeder. This will be the first year that I have one set up. I read an article in a magazine about attracting birds to your back yard, types of food that is best for them, types of feeders etc. I am hoping to be able to get some awesome photographs this winter of birds feeding at the feeders.

My son is thrilled that it snowed as now it will be much easier to track the deer this hunting season. He and a couple of his friends are heading out this weekend for in search of a trophy buck. Michael will be home for a week in which he hopes to fulfill his dream of getting a nice size deer.