Fighting Winter Blahs...

This winter, I decided to be pro-active about the winter blahs... The winter blahs are the feeling that sets in around Mid-February or March just before the snow recedes, whispers of spring are seen, and winter begins to feel endless. I decided that I needed to get a hobby, outside of the house (outside of hockey) --just to keep busy, and challenge myself.

I saw an ad in the paper for auditions for a local theater company. I auditioned. And I got a part. I will be playing a hospital worker in the Hartland Players production of W;T (http://www.hartlandplayers.org/index.php?view=details&id=12:wit&option=com_redevent&Itemid=5). The play's content is a little close to my real job, but should be enjoyable nonetheless.I am looking forward to the challenge, as I have not acted in a play in a little over a decade. I have my first rehersal tonight, and am really looking forward to it. It should be fun memorizing lines again; helping put together the set, and re-learning how to take stage directions. But, it should not be such a challenge as to be overwhelming... just a fun experience!

On a side note: the auditions allowed me to meet more of my neighbors. Who knew that so many people living within a few house radius would be auditioning for the same play!?!?!

2009 in Highlights

Taking a nod from Julie's blog... Here is our 2009 highlight reel:

Best Times: 1) Kristen & Todd's wedding -- such a happy time! 2) Having my family out here a few times. 3) My mini, solo vacation to Boston: having dinner with Maria, touring the Freedom trail, and taking long bubble baths. 4) Going fishing Labor Day weekend with Pete's family. 5) Coffee Wednesday nights with the girls. 6) Watching Walter catch his first fish 4th of July time. 7) Having Beth for a few weekends this past October -- it was fun to have some action at our house on the weekends. 8) Trips to the coast this past summer.


Hardest Times: A camping trip in the early summer with our friends. It was a cold, wet, rainy weekend and we were near lake Michigan. Everything was damp, and chilled. I was happy when the weekend was over and I could enjoy the warmth of my own bed. For future years... we will plan the trip later in the year!

Best Restaurant: Any little local place, that's not a big chain.

Favorite Music: In no particular order...
1) "Dance Little Jean" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvWdBuJxP0
2) "Very Busy People" by The Limousines (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuXOao6jBoM ) **Words are not appropriate for all ages
3) "Guitar Town" by Steve Earle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AINUPFbFpqg)
4) "Fireflies" by Owl City ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr9EKJatJvA )
5) "Runaway Train" by Roseanne Cash (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aApAFwZRxuU)
6) "Beautiful Day" preformed by World Idol winnder, Kurt Nilsen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKg7SB-tcdA )
Among much other music!

Awesome TV Show: The Big Bang Theory (Of course!) and True Blood.

Best Books: The Twilight Saga. Quick, easy reading. Recommended for those who have not yet read the series! :)


New Favorite Way to Ingest Chocolate: Hot Cocoa made from scratch (combine 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1 Tbsp. cocoa in a glass. Add about 1/3 cup milk. Heat in the microwave to boiling. Stir until cocoa and milk combine. Fill remaining cup with milk. Heat to hot enough in the microwave. Add a small glug of vanilla extract. Enjoy. -- Have with a piece of buttered toast... mmm mmm good.)

Or peanut butter M & Ms.


Favorite Drink: Chai lattes. Or spiced apple cider. Water's good too.

Funniest Memories: 1) Pete & Ed went golfing... long story short, Pete ended up with a mouse in his shirt! Many funny recounts of this story. 2) Kristen & Todd's wedding weekend! Many funny memories from that weekend... Their wedding was beautiful and both parties were relaxed the whole time! :) 3) Learning how to tan my legs for Kristen's wedding from Pete's aunt Karen... (First step, change out of jeans and into shorts)! :)

Favorite Websites: http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/ -Found from Jan's website! This site kept me laughing from time to time! :) **May contain content inappropriate for small children.
http://www.pandora.com/ -- Music to listen to -- learns to play music that you like.
http://www.youtube.com/ -- You can find almost anything on this site.

Funnest Surprise: A few weekend trips to the coast -- nothing better to do on a Saturday or Sunday, so we spent time on the beach!

Goals Accomplished: 1) House projects: Fixing the holes in the living room walls (thank you dad!). Having new windows installed on the first and second floors. Painting Hondo's room. Spending Saturday's cutting up trees in the front yard. Installing a rod to organize items in my closet. 2) Taking the MCAT, and applying to medical school. Regardless of if I get into school for next fall, it is still a big step to apply and I am proud of myself for even doing that.

Favorite Purchase: The eee PC computers Pete bought us last spring. These things have been really nifty -- portable, internet compatible, and able to be used to watch movies/tv shows online.

Guilty Pleasure: Reading. Ask Pete -- when I read, I have very good concentration (for the book and can tune out almost everything else).


Plans for 2010? Learning to play the guitar. Maybe, finally making curtains for my windows. Hunting squirrels out the window. Re-siding and repairing the trim on our house. Perhaps finishing a denim blanket I started the fall Pete & I were first married. Celebrating our 5th anniversary.

Squirrel Hunting

Season's greetings!

We had a wonderful Christmas, spending the time at home and visiting with family. On Christmas eve, we saw both sides of Pete's family and then had his older cousins (and uncle) over for games -- so much fun and many laughs! On Christmas day, we had lunch at Pete's parents and went over to his aunt & uncle's for some more visiting. Always fun to catch up with everyone! :) I thought that I would share a few photos of our Christmas decor before I dismantle them tonight/this next week:

Cup cupboard

Decor on top of the living room cabinet filled with Christmas lights...

Stockings hung by the chimney with care...

We did not have a Christmas tree... so clean-up is really easy! :)

Today, 1 day after the Christmas festivities... it's snowing (we have had a rain mixture for the last day or two), and looks like winter outside! We have spent today more or less relaxing... sleeping in until late, going out for breakfast, putting the Christmas cards in the photo album, and then... declaring war on the squirrels. This past week, we heard the squirrels in the ceiling of the second floor. So, after breakfast, we bought a BB gun, a few live traps, and a squirrel feeder. The squirrel feeder has been mounted to a tree outside this window -- the plan is: see squirrel, open window, shoot squirrel (who then becomes cat food). After the squirrels are no longer in the house, we plan to re-side the house and repair the trim and thus prevent more squirrels from entering our domicile...

I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas! Best wishes for a lovely 2010!

A week before Christmas and all through the house...

I am admittedly a Christmas slacker this year. I have procrastinated throughout the season to get the Christmas things done that are supposed to get done.

I got Christmas cards out last week, finally.

Made my first batch of Christmas "cookies" today (carmels & peanut butter truffles).

And have finally decided that its too close to Christmas to put up a tree (sounds like a lot of work for 1 week)....

Somehow, it still feels like Christmas to me. We've went to a few parties, and enjoyed the Christmas trees at other people's homes. This season has been quite relaxing... since I have slacked on the decorating and baking, I somehow have been able to enjoy the seasonal gatherings and others cookies a bit more. But... I am still wondering, is it wrong to enjoy the season without putting up a tree?

(Don't get me wrong -- I hope not to make an annual habit of being a Christmas slacker... but for this year, it sure feels nice.)

Merry Christmasl!

Winter is finally here!

Alright... so life has been busy here at home, so I missed writing something entirely in November! :)

We had the privilege of watching Beth during the end of October/beginning of November, while her parents were travelling. It was so much fun to have her around, with all of her busy activities! We carved pumpkins, and she had friends over here. She kept us entertained with the stories of her school days! :) I would post a photo or two... but these are on my "old" computer!

Which brings me to my next item... We had a major computer breakdown last month. Both Pete & I lost our computer monitors. So, Pete decided to improve our computer set-up. I was without a computer for a few weeks last month while the necessary parts were ordered, and assembled. Pete built a new computer for himself and set-up network storage. He was so excited to complete his new computer -- it's a solid state hard drive, for those techies reading! I now have his old computer... and it runs much quicker than the last relic I was using...

Shortly after the computer upgrades were completed, we journeyed to Minnesota. We celebrated Christmas as a family on Tuesday -- complete with a fantastic prime rib dinner, trade names, and Christmas decor. A good time was had by all!

On Thursday (Thanksgiving) my mom's side of the family got together to celebrate Thanksgiving -- most of the family was around, and it was fun to see most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins at this dinner.

Black Friday, my sisters, mom, and I went shopping. We were on the morning news (but can not seem to find the clip any where online). Later that day while we were still shopping, a lady came up to us and exclaimed, "I saw you on the news this morning -- you're famous! You all look like so much fun.". It would be fun to see this clip and what exactly was shown... only my mom looked put together; the rest of us were a conglomeration of messy ponytails, and sweatshirts. But shopping with my mom and sisters is always a good time!

I would post photos of our trip to Minnesota, however... I neglected to use my camera.

We arrived home from Minnesota on Sunday morning at 3 AM. As much fun as it is to be away, it always feels good to return home. We picked up our dog, and settled back into our routine. I was happy to find that we still have a cat.

Last Tuesday, however, I came down with the flu. As an adult, this bug certainly packs a punch! I was down for the count through the weekend... today, is my first day out of pajamas and vertical for any length of time.

Sometime during this last week, we had our first snow fall... winter is finally here!

So, tonight... I am updating this long neglected blog, and trying to teach myself to play a few guitar chords by the fireplace. My hope is that someday, maybe... I will be able to play a song in its entirety... but for tonight, I am happy to learn finger placement for the A, C, and G chords.

Happy December to all! I hope to update this more often.

What October means...

October certainly has been a busy month... It was the end of the regular baseball season, hailed with a the end of the baseball "powerlock" between Pete and his dad. Pete was ahead in the number of games won right up until the end of the season, when his dad made a come back and won. The above picture shows the exchange of the trophy (but does not show the red "carpet" upon which the trophy was presented). Fun for all involved! :)

October also meant a trip for me... I went to Boston for a few days for work. During this trip I discovered the Twilight series, and read all 4 books in a period of 5 days. Seriously good books!

I stayed across from Boston garden and Boston Common. I took advantage of my location -- touring the parks and going on a guided hike of the Freedom trail.

Did you know that Mother Goose was a real person? I saw her grave on the tour... Her headstone is below...

I also found out the Greek Revival style of home (the style of my house) is very popular around Harvard Square... I saw many homes with this styling... Interesting to see them in another color other than white! :)

I also had the privilege of having dinner with this lady when I was out East. She brought me to a fantastic place for dinner called Fire & Ice. It was fun to catch up and see a familiar face! :) Thank you again!

Since returning from Boston, we had a bit of excitement. Last weekend was the Detroit marathon. Unfortunately, all the pictures I took at the marathon are on a non-digital camera (and will not be included on this blog). Congratulations to all the runners & it was fun to see those who came into town for the race.

Sunday after the marathon, Hondo developed an ulcerated cornea. He gets to wear this e-collar for a little while (to prevent him from rubbing his eye and further irritating it). He looks so pathetic, its cute!

Finally, this weekend we get to spend with this little person! We are looking forward to a fun weekend with her! :) I got to pick her up today after school -- she had gone on a field trip to a one room school house and was all dressed up!

Under any circumstances... we have not been getting too much in the way of projects done around the house. Our current project is splitting and stacking wood (from dead trees on our property) -- a physically demanding job that heats us twice (once when we split and stack, and once when the wood gets burned).

Updates on Life

Since I last wrote... we have celebrated our 4th anniversary, Pete's 26th birthday, Pete's dad's 50th birthday... and I caught a fish! :) We had a great time fishing with Pete's family! :)

We continue to chop wood nearly every weekend. Our wood pile keeps growing; we should be able to heat at least this winter with the supply we have on hand now!