blayde and charlene

The last several weeks I could be blogging every 15 minutes and

not keeping up with what is happening around here!

A week ago, on Sunday the 22nd,

these young people became engaged to be married.

The wedding date isn't set yet, but it won't be in the next three months.

 

 

Wishing them blessings as they plan for their big day.

We are happy to be adding Charlene to our family.

 

Congratulations!

52:52 twinkling lights

Project 52

 

Here we are.

Our final week of this project.

This has been a challenge at times, especially in the time department.

Some Thursday's I've all of a sudden remembered at one o'clock in the morning,

after my visitors have gone home, that I had a post to finish.

I've used some old photos mixed in with new ones,

but every week I have posted a photo that was new.

It has forced me to pick my camera and keep it at the ready.

I wish my photography skills were better,

but that would be another one of those little time things.

 

I have been awed at the number of you who have strolled around our circle.

I certainly hope you have enjoyed it as much as we all have.

Waiting to see everyone's interpretation of our week's theme has

been a lot of fun as well.

I appreciate the gals who hung in there and made this work.

 

Christmas is now over and I'll share a post about that later.

For now, quiet has descended.

The shoulders can lift a little higher.

The belly protude a little further.

The house is still full of sugar and leftovers.

 

 

I may even have a moment now to sit and enjoy the twinkling lights.

I had better do it quicklike, because I've an itch to take it all down already.

Duke certainly has the right idea.

 

More twinkling lights up the road a spell ......

May your New Year be blessed!

Merry Christmas!

 To all of you out there who take the time to stop by

and visit at Breezy Lane,

Our family wishes you and yours a Blessed Christmas.

 

I'm feeling it!

Did you know that I can play with the times that I post this? Like, I don't stay up to post at 3:00 a.m. every Friday morning. And here you thought I was being so diligent all year long. So, tonight when I'm done here and I hit the pubish button, the time is true. Although which time zone it thinks I'm in is another matter.

 

I really can't believe it myself.

 

Yesterday was one of those days. Dear Hubby had texted me on Thursday at work asking what I had planned for Friday. School work was the plan. Nothing but getting that out of the way. The plan changed in a hurry when he said I was scheduled for a massage in the morning. Really??!! I'll get right on that one and skip the school stuff. After all, life is so often about priorities, right?

 

I did manage that massage and found out why I am in agony and sitting against a heating pad all the time. I need some serious trigger point massages. I probably need it even more so after what I did next. Off to shop ... one store after another ... accomplishing little missions. During my driving, I got a call asking if we would host the HAPs Christmas party. It was suppose to be at Kevin & Janet's but he was being released from the hospital ... only one day after the neurosurgeons did their work! Sure, why not? We love them kids. Home to wrap gifts that still weren't shipped. Shoot! Until that point, they weren't even bought! Clean the house with help. Off to the post office and Costco. Home again and off again. Anna & Wylon had us over for dinner.

 

Oh. My. Goodness. Delicious!! This picture is from the last time we were there for dinner. Love watching those two work in the kitchen together. So fun. Have me over anytime ... I'll bring the dessert and next time, I'll even bring the Coke for Jari!

We celebrated Tia's 17th birthday ... bad photos and all!
Happy Birthday to my Princess who next year celebrates a golden birthday with entry into adulthood.
I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

 

Home to a houseful of Christmas cheer! They said they would bring everything .. and did they! The kitchen was busy cooking when I walked in the door and the house was rather full. There was a point in my life where I wasn't sure I could handle this age. We really and truly love them. I especially love the fact that they don't mind piling into a small place and taking up every inch of floor space. I love that we will slowly get to know all of them. I want them always to feel welcome here ......

even if it means that I'm crashed out on the couch the next night at 7:30 because I can't keep my eyes open. I'm starting to feel these creeping upward numbers called aging. I did do the laundry today, wrote a paper, posted discussion questions and tried to stay awake through most of it. Serious. Jari and I both had the same problems.

So, the next time .... I'll plan on being up until 2:00 a.m. and take a nap in the afternoon so I'm not feeling jet lagged the next day. That's what it feels like! And worth every tired moment.

Tomorrow morning I really need to be awake. My fingers need to be hitting the ivory keys at 9:00 a.m. sharp for Sunday School program practice. Church at 10:30. Glendale Sunday School program at 4:00 pm and then dinner (supper ... in case Dad is reading this). Move the bodies on back to Cave Creek for the next Sunday School program at 7:00 p.m. I think I can squeeze in a nap between 1:00 and 3:00 unless life has another plan for my day.

Now it is once again 1:55 a.m. and I really need to get myself off to the land of sugarplums where I hope to see visions of UPS doing a delivery from Amazon. Like, seriously, where is that package?!

We've experienced sadness this week and we've experienced joy.
Isn't that what keeps us going?
One tempers the other.
For without joy, the sadness would be overwhelming.
Without sadness we wouldn't appreciate the joy.

'Night all. Enjoy the season and the festivities.
Take a moment to enjoy the small things.

51.52 cold

Project 52

So we wind down this second to the last post of the year with cold.

Noses are running Kleenex boxes off the shelves in this city.

Last week the heaters were running to keep homes warm at night.

The other day I drove by cactus covered to prevent frost bite.

This week's forecast has the sun shining and the temperature hovering in the 60's.

Not nearly the definition of cold for most of us.

For others, it offers the opportunity to light a fire and snuggle up.

Of our circle featuring Project 52, I am the southernmost participant.

Cooler temps, in fact downright cold, is happening in places other than on my street.

In fact, a bit of it may be going on over here.

50:52 tradition

Project 52

Some traditions change while others stay the same.

We try adopting new ones occasionally,

sometimes they stick and other time they just don't.

(Like finding a Christmas tree in Phoenix on Christmas Eve.

That one didn't work so well.)

One tradition that has stayed is our tree decorated with personality.

Personalities of little people that have grown to big people.

The joy of emptying the tin of ornaments and remembering

where they came from and whose hands made them.

Then there is the tradition of the nativity.

Hand crafted by Grandpa and Grandma.

All the pieces still intact.

The real reason we celebrate this season.

More tradition over Leann's way.

I can't hardly believe that this is week 50 of our Project 52.

Am I ready to make this a tradition and continue next year?



Overnite oatmeal

I haven't had time lately to be visiting Pinterest, much to my dismay.

I do go to work though and the girls at work are all coming in with Mason jars filled with oatmeal.

So, I decided to join them.

Talk about a filling breakfast for one on the run.

I've been very lazy about my usual microwave morning oatmeal/egg thing, so thought this might just do the trick.

 

1. Gather the ingredients.

** If you don't want to use almond milk, skim milk packs more protein

just makes your final product a little runnier according to one who tried it.

 

2. Plunk the ingredients into a canning jar, plop the lid on put it in the fridge.

Incidentally, a leftover pasta sauce jar works too. Anything storage container works.

The canning jar just looks cute.

 

 

Or, do a bunch at a time.

It will sit nicely for days in the fridge.

 

 

 

3. In the morning, just grab and go.

  

 

One valuable little lesson I learned. Shake it to keep the chia seeds from clumping together.

I couldn't handle the thought of chewing on a spoonful of chia seeds and starting dumping them in the garbage out of my container when I spoon stirred the mix. If you shake it up good, they disperse throughout and it works much better.

 

Second lesson. I really am not crazy about plain greek yogurt. I bought a large container of greek yogurt with honey at WinCo and yum! It is almost divine. Mix any fruit in there you like or add fruit sauce. Anything works that teases your taste buds.

 

No nutritional content values available on this here post. I do know that it is packed with good things so it must be good for you. And it is downright filling.

 

******************************************* 

 

Overnite Oatmeal Recipe

 

1/2 cup oatmeal (any kind works)

1 c almond milk

1 Tbsp chia seed

4 oz greek yogurt

1/2 cup fruit (berries, bananas, etc.)

couple drops stevia (I don't use stevia and didn't add any sweetener to mine.)

 

Put in fridge at night ... ready in the morning.

awhile back ...

In November we took an evening and went to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Miss Mrs. Anna's birthday.

Please excuse the photos. I don't haul a camera along anymore and really am not a great fan of my phone's photos in the dark.

The family girls ... bad photos and all.

Mind you, we were appropriately attired.

On the other hand, I'm not so sure about these others we watched for a while.

The greatest part was watching the older gentleman watching the young things.

He did visit with them a little. I'll give him that. He didn't just watch them.

As I watched them, though, I had this thought.

When your dress is so short that it barely covers the essentials, and you're probably not wearing any spanks or granny panties, are your butt cheeks resting on the seats at the restaurant?

And, furthermore, do I need to start carrying a travel size package of Clorox wipes in my purse ... just in case?

Realize also that it was their mothers who were dropping these girls off at the restaurant because they aren't old enough to drive themselves.

So, maybe mom goes out attired in the same manner. I really don't know.

Then again, I'm probably safe sitting on the seat.

My tush is covered.


 

49:52 intangible

Project 52

intangible

 

 This week's post was a bit of a challenge as the definition of intangible is sort of ...

intangible.

It will be a fun trip around the circle this week.

I am looking forward to seeing what Keilah came up with!

I am getting tired

of not having any time to spend on here.

It is seriously getting old.

Do you know that I like Overnite Oatmeal?

Not hardly ... I haven't been able to share that with you.

Do you know that I haven't put up one bit of Christmas?

Nope. You don't know that either.

Or that I'm out of butter and the milk in the fridge expired last week?

Maybe even the week before.

 

I mean ... seriously!

This is ridiculous.

So, tonight I wrote Last Paper 1 of 2.

At least for this 8 weeks of horror happiness.

By the time I was done, I was writing like a blog entry.

'Cept I used full on sentences.

Some even had semi colons.

 

So I flipped a cartwheel.

The only way I know how.

 

See you Friday!

48:52 satisfaction

Project 52

satisfaction

What is satisfaction?

Is it the laundry room that is now navigable?

Is it the Christmas cards that are all addressed and waiting for stamps?

 

Is it the fact that I needed to create a folder in my email box just for Kohl's cash because I've been doing so much online Christmas shopping ... but I can't manage to accomplish my To Do list that makes up the last 3 available pages of this notebook.

  

 

Is it that these are eaten by now and I can't convince a muscle to move?

Or is it all just a wee but more delightful when shared with friends/family over a great cup of freshly brewed java?

 

 

Maybe it is the week of vacation from work I've just been on.

That, my friends, is pure satisfaction!

 

Hoping your Thanksgiving was blessed, filled with friends and family.

Satisfaction to be found Amber's way!

New living spaces

Complete with Saturday afternoon naps.

 

The lovely yellow notes that say I have a package that won't fit in my itty bitty mail box at the post office. 

The iHeater going in the kitchen. Okay. I wouldn't turn it on. That would be my hubby. We thought it no longer worked. He plugged it in on Friday evening and we were amazed to see it actually did! It worked like a charm to warm my basement in Alaska. As long as he doesn't start tugging it down into the bedrooms at night I'll be okay. 

In case you think I've turned wimpy real fast ... it really has been raining and chilly here. 

In case you didn't notice .. all of my walls in this house have color. No white empty palettes to drive me crazy. 

Then again... if I did something about this mess maybe he could just put on some long handles and skip the electric variety.

 

Somewhere in there are his long handles. And his sweaters. And my tape for wrapping gifts. I nearly suffered an injury yesterday trying to get the wrapping paper down. Don't use cardboard boxes that aren't filled with books as step stools or, worse yet, ladders. 

No later than next Saturday .... hold me to it. 

Please?

'Cuz I can't handle that unorganized bedlam. 

47:52 nature

Project 52

nature

 

 

More nature to be found in Amber's direction.



week 5

is done and submitted.
That means 5/8 of the way done.
62.5% of the way done.
That is almost as delicious as smelling a pie baking.
The living room is habitable.
I can find my bed and don't need to pole vault to get into it.
The Christmas lights are strung on the patio.
I don't know where to store my iron that I use all the time.
We went to the post office twice this week.
Walmart is really close and I finally have iced tea.
I took a nap today after church and dreamed that I lost my shoes.
I think I was in Minneapolis in my dream.
Tia is finally home after being gone way too long.
I have no more than 32 hours of work this week.
The following week I'm on vacation.
I am dreaming of laying on the couch outside and reading.
Maybe an entire book.
One that has nothing to do with critical thinking tactics.
And for certain, nothing to do with world health topcis.

Welcome over to our patio for coffee and ... have a great week!

46:52 be still

Project 52

 

be still

my yard

the laughter has moved away

the lawn games are no more

the four legged irritant to your existence is gone

today marks the beginning of a new day

in your newly quiet world

live well and grow strong

be still 

 

on to amber in alaska where the snow will fly and the world will all be still ... soon



saturday

5:15 a.m. saw my eyes popped open before the alarm rang. I'm making a permanent divet in the end of the couch that I call my office. My arms and legs and turning to mush while I study but my fingers can navigate serious numbers of open windows and documents at the same time. 

A quick shower, run to pay rent on the new place and pick up address change forms from the post office that should have been done a week ago ... and off to shop for wedding dresses with Alyx. No luck. At least we are ruling out options. Just getting closer to sewing it myself! Got a call as we were almost home and pulled into the cul de sac to this sight!

There was some serious action going on! The plan was not to move until Wednesday but these guys got a serious start on it all! It is really starting to look more like home over there than it does here. 

Meanwhile ... this poor guy knows what packing tape and boxes are all about ... and he is not impressed with this process. 

I, on the other hand, am excited to see where I can find homes for everything at the new place and am getting very excited to see Friday morning. 

I'll be perched on the same end of the same couch with the same laptop. Same windows open in the computer, different papers being written ... all in a different home ... with the same coffee cup. 

45:52 texture

Project 52

texture

 

texture of pulla

when you accidentally

double the amount of butter

that the recipe calls for

 

 

more texture going on around the circle at keilah's house this week

this week on my phone

Saw a style I haven't seen in a few years.

Maybe I should get some leggings and white socks.

Wonder if I'll need some safety pins sometime soon.

Restaurants should offer dollar store reading glasses

or arm extenders.

 

Sunrise is now seen from a few stories up

after the day has already begun.

 

5:30 pm on the freeway heading home.

 

Christmas music is gracing the piano.

Have a great rest of the week!