Happy, Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

Jen singing "Mary Did You Know?" at our Christmas eve service.

Today, January 14th is Jennifer's birthday! Wow!! How well I remember her birth! I think even more than Jason and Jodi's. Probably because it was shorter and I was more "alert" for it - not as many drugs and she came fast at the end!! Dale even got coerced into going into the delivery room (the nurse gave him scrubs and said, "suit up"! No ifs, ands or buts!) I was very happy he was there for the support and for being able to see her as they cleaned her up. She wasn't crying and I was worried, but he said she was kicking, so that made me feel better. She has been a real joy to us and I think to her brother and sister, too. I'm so glad they all get along now as adults and we all have such a great time together. Saturday we are celebrating her day at their place. Birthdays are big with us - I guess that is my "fault", but my family always made a big deal, so what can I say. I always felt sorry for Jen having her birthday so close to Christmas, but we still always tried to make it special for her. It was great last year when Jodi and I went up and spent the weekend with her. Now she's here and we don't have to go anywhere and that is super special, too. I love her and love how she loves Craig and the heart she has for the Lord and the things of the Lord. He gave her a very special talent - her singing - and I love that she has always used it for Him. God bless you, My Jen and thank you for being my daughter! I thank God for that special gift, too!! Love you lots!!

Looks aren't everything!

( This is the view from my front window)

"Baby it's cold outside!" I think this will be our mantra this winter. I am up already (it is 7:33 a.m.!) and listening to my poor industrious husband as he snowblows the sidewalk outside our window. The temperature is -19 with a windchill of -33!!! Too cold for me!! It is very quiet here, as there is nothing on tv. I am also hearing the "chewing" noise I hear quite often coming from the kitchen. We can't decide if it is a mouse, rat or maybe the refrigerator. Anyway, it is annoying and I wish we could figure out what it is. I hear it right behind the fridge and I am sure it is a varmint of some kind. Aaargh!!! As long as it doesn't gnaw its way into the apartment, I guess I can live with it. About being up so early - well, Dale and I have been going through stomach troubles - not really bad, but enough to wake us up and all that fun stuff. So, I was awake a few times after 5 and couldn't go back to sleep, so decided to get up. Dale came in and said it was "ugly" out there, so I imagine Jodi will have fun taking the kids to school this morning. It will probably be as cold at noon when I take Bethie, but it seems better if it is daylight. I have to tell you about a movie I watched on Sunday. I like watching movies on Turner Classic Movies - because they are usually old and run without commercials. This one was called "Marty". I have heard of it, but never watched it. It won best picture the year it was out - 1955 I think. Ernest Borgnine had the lead and if you know who he is, well, he wasn't your typical hollywood "star" - especially back then. He was usually a criminal or tough guy or some such, because he wasn't all that handsome. So, the movie was about someone who wasn't a "looker" as they used to say back then. I found if very poignant and was really cheering for him at the end of the movie. His costar was Betsy Blair (who? don't remember ever seeing her before), pretty, but not "va-va-va-voom" and the right pick for his costar. I said to Dale, I wondered if they felt a little sad that they had been picked for their roles because they were plain. Oh well, it was really a tale of perception. Ugly or plain guys figured they had to have "dolls", but the "dolls" didn't want them. So, when Marty meets Clara who has just been dumped by her blind date because someone prettier comes along, his friends think he's dating a "dog" and should forget about her. Like they were so great looking! Well, it reminded me of my teen years. I was not a cheerleader nor anywhere near perky and cute, so most of the guys just looked past me. It was that way with most of my friends also. How shallow people are! Well, I'm glad the Lord brought Dale and I together. I thought he was a pretty good looking fella when I met him (except for the sideburns!) and I guess he thought I was pretty good looking, too. (he says he did and still does - aaahhh!) Kind of wish I'd gone to one of my class reunions to see what the "va-va-va-vooms" ended up with! Ha! "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart". Hope you have a great day!!! P.S. Happy birthday yesterday (12th) to my daughter(in-law) Sandra!!

It started out nice...

Today WAS a good day. It started out that way. When I woke up it was about -10C out and no wind and I thought, ok, this is good. See, it has been so bitterly cold for the past - well, forever - that I only go out if I have to and then do what I have to do and get back inside. So, today I thought if it was so nice and "warm" out, I'd go and do some shopping and put gas in my car, etc. and it would be good. And it was! There weren't nearly as many people out as I thought there would be (well, I was out before noon, so that makes a difference), so it didn't seem like a jungle or anything. I went to Michael's and had a good roam through the store. I even found a pattern for a shawl that looked like it would be nice - I've been looking for one for quite some time. I found some other stuff and the line at the till wasn't unreasonably long, so I was happy. I went to Roger's and found a couple of movies I'd been looking for. I really was having a good day. I picked up the pictures I had finally had developed and a pair of pants I had ordered from the catalog. After getting groceries, I finally arrived home. I was still feeling fine and got the groceries put away and all that. I tried on the pants and they were miles too big! No, I haven't lost more weight, they just were huge! Bummer. When I finally had a minute to sit, I decided to look through my pictures. Now, I have to explain. I haven't gotten them developed since Evan's birthday party, which was October 23rd, so there were LOTS of pictures! Needless to say, I did not feel like standing and going through each one to check for red eye or whatever at the store. As I looked through them, I was a little annoyed that some were poorly lit. They looked yellow and some were fuzzy. I know my camera isn't a real expensive one (it's a Kodak digital and usually I get pretty good pictures.) I think part of the reason is that I tend to zoom into take pictures rather than get up and go closer. This is because if you do that with the kids, they are usually on the floor and I can't get down there, plus when you move, they stop what they are doing. Well, you know what I mean, I'm sure. Then, a lot of them were Christmas Eve pictures and it was pretty dark in the church. Then on Christmas day, my camera started to make noise and I found if I turned the automatic focus off it stopped ticking. Anyway, I knew they weren't great and I had deleted a lot that were really crappy before I got them developed. I kept some that were just so-so. I was ok with them, then Dale looked at them. I know I am just being touchy, but when he complained about them, it really hurt my feelings - like I wasn't a very good photographer. I really like my little camera and usually the pictures turn out pretty good. Isn't that stupid? After that, everything went downhill. I was trying a new recipe for roasted potatoes and they didn't cook right. I had decided on pork cutlets and they were frying perfectly, but got done too soon, so weren't as nice as they should have been fresh from the pan. Then, I wanted to put one of my pictures on my blog that turned out pretty cool, but I realized I deleted it before uploading it. It seemed like one thing after another. It just seemed like my good day went away and a crummy one took its place. I guess I will just have to say, "Oh well, tomorrow is another day.". Hope your day is going well!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, it's the beginning of a new year! I can hardly believe the year is 2009! I remember sitting in class in the 6th grade and Miss Connelly asking what our age would be in the year 2000. We figured it out and it was 48! I thought that was SO OLD!! Now, it is 9 years later than that and I don't feel all that old (only somewhat) and it doesn't seem so strange to be in the 21st century. I just couldn't wrap my head around something that far away back then. Most of you know that my two least favorite things of all are housework and SNOW!!!! I absolutely hate snow and cold! We've had a very bitter winter so far and it looks like it is here to stay for a very long time!! We got so much snow on New Year's Eve and it's snowing again today. Poor Dale - he went to help out on NY's Day with snowblowing and has been doing it most of today, too. I bought new long underwear for the first time in many, many, many years and have worn them about 95% of the time! Just about every time I go outside. The windchills have been so bitter and my little car, although Dale has gotten it working wonderfully, still takes a good hour to warm up to my liking. So, if I have little stops, I just keep it running and eventually it is good. So dumb, but so necessary to me! Yesterday was New Year's Day and I did my usual - nothing! I watched rented movies all day. I had to see the 3rd Mummy movie, as I really enjoyed 1 and 2. Well, 3 wasn't really great (a different actress for Evie didn't help), but it was a Mummy movie and I liked it ok. I also got Journey to the Center of the Earth (I like Brendan Fraser) and it was good - Dale even got to watch most of it and he liked it. Get Smart was better than I thought it would be and we REALLY enjoyed Nim's Island and recommend it to anyone. So, since I spent the day vegging, I had to get back at it today. I used my new "toy" - an apartment sized portable dishwasher - and decided I should wash shirts, as I was running out of something to wear. I have to go up to the 2nd floor to wash clothes as there are no washer/dryers on the main floor. It's a pain to keep having to go up there. Fortunately, we do have elevators or I wouldn't be doing it. Dale did a lot of cleaning for me when he was off the week before Christmas and I'm determined to try to keep up with it. It's our "date night" where we go out for supper and get groceries. I went to the store on Wednesday a.m. to "stock up" and I was glad I did with the storm and all. So, we don't need much, but should try to get back in the "groove" and have enough to go to next Friday. I ran out of Celebrex over the holidays and had to wait for the doctor to phone in a refill, which she hasn't done yet! So, I'm starting to ache and have more pain than I'd like. I thought maybe I could cut down on it, but I guess not. It takes a while to get out of your system, so it takes a while to get back in. It takes me a while to get going in the morning, as I am very stiff and sore. Then, sitting for awhile seizes me up again. Ho hum... Sandra sent me an email that she has started a blog as well and it is really good. I like the different perspectives of people. She is such an avid photographer and I like photography as well, so it will be good to find tips or whatever!! Well, I guess I need to go get the clothes. Hope everyone had a terrific Christmas season and a has a great year!!