You Call This a Vacation?

I like to take pictures, I like to have pictures. There is something missing in my brain.  It seems to be the part that remembers events that I haven't taken pictures of.  It doesn't. 

So, what happens if I forget my camera.  Or what if I remember my camera but photos don't get taken?  What if whatever else happens is SO startling that there isn't time to take pictures.  I think I will remember that.  Especially, the events that actually DID happen.  There won't be any forgetting this vacation, no way, no how. 

Part 2 of the of the Unending, Very Long, Too Exciting, Unbelievable Week.

Monday we left for Salida, Colorado to ski/snowboard at Monarch Mountain for a couple of days.  We were planning to meet my brother's family and some of their friends. The trip went well considering, nine hours isn't much fun to sit in a vehicle and go up and down and around mountains, and get sickish in the stomach.  There was no yelling, complaining, and etc., ....after the first 100 miles or so, when my daughter decided she COULD live without her computer after all. 

I didn't ski this year.  I haven't exercised consistently for two years.  I figured it would be safer for me and more enjoyable for everyone else if I didn't.  I thought it would be fun to hang out at the lodge and crochet and read and have lunch ready for everyone else.  Which it was...sort of.  It was also boring.  And I didn't see anybody for a very long time, since the room for people who bring lunch in is separated from the places where you can buy food. 

The big-kid part of the party found me at lunch time, and  my older nephew's friend was acting strangely, so strangely in fact, that I sent them to find my brother.  He had hit his head.  So, that was the end of any more skiing on my brother's part as they took the boy down to ER with a concussion. 

Anytime there is an injury it spoils every one's fun.  But, we thought everyone else would be able to enjoy the second day.  However, in the evening the other mom of the party wasn't feeling well, so my sister in law took HER to the ER and they kept her overnight, with altitude sickness. 

The party heading out to the slopes the next day, was much diminished.  I stayed, the injured ones stayed, and the younger boys stayed. So, Jim and my brother took just the three cousins up the mountain, agreeing all to meet again for a photo session. 

But, it didn't happen.  My brother was watching when Nathan took a jump and it didn't go well.  He landed on his face, and when he came up, his arm was broken.  So, down to get first aid, and on to Salida to the ER, where my sister in law and I met them.  And then as everyone gathered and left and gathered again, we settled down to a very long wait in the ER.  We were fairly high on the list, with Nathan's injury. There were others that waited a lot longer.  But, still it is waiting.

Nathan found ways to entertain himself. 

Eventually, after we found that Nathan had broken the large bone in his arm just above the wrist, we waited some more before Nathan was sent up for a very short surgery.  They put three pins in and after going home and getting settled in again.  Lynette and Nathan asked for a steak dinner.

We had a long ride home, but Nathan did fine with the high powered painkiller he was taking. I was glad to be home.  It was Thursday again, and the week was over.

Thank goodness.

We stopped on the way home to look at the Royal Gorge Bridge.  It was neat, but for the amount of money we spent the the very short time we spent there, I'm not sure we did the right thing.

Time Goes By So Fast

In case you haven't noticed, it is January already.  Not only that as of today we are half way through January, and I don't really know where the rest of it has gone.  I should have the W-2 forms ready to go and be thinking about getting stuff ready for working on taxes for our business.  I said THIS year is going to be different.  Well, it is different all right, but so far not in the taxes direction. 

So, pretending it isn't January, but back in December, where so many things happened in one week back there, that it is almost unbelievable.  Here is Part 1 of the Unending, Very Long, Too Exciting, Unbelievable Week.


We very often celebrate, our end of the year birthdays on Christmas weekend, since it is a good time for our family to gather together.  Or rather we celebrate whenever we DO get together, whichever holiday weekend it is.  This year, we celebrated Christmas weekend since it just worked out that way.  There are way too many involved circumstances that I am not going to go into here, why or who ended up at our house for a few days.

Lorene would turn 19 on January 3, and Zane, 2 on the last day of the year, so my folks came down to eat cake and watch present opening.  I very carefully made two cakes, one for each of the celebrants, thinking about being able to pull off cake baking and decorating for an upcoming reception.  Well, IF I would have read the frosting recipe more carefully, it might have been more of a success, as it was, the frosting was better to look at, than eat. 

Lynette drew the car, I can't remember who did the border.

This one is mine, and would be fine except for the caterpillery '19'.  I rather like the squiggles.

Thar she blows!

Wagon from great-grampa.

Trike from Grandpa.

I just love this picture of auntie and nephew.

This is just a funny little picture of Zane licking a ball of ice, that Nathan made with a balloon.  It was cold those days.



So to sum up the first part of the week, Thurs. company came, and we had birthday party.  Friday we made plans for a big dinner and played games.  Saturday we ate our big dinner, and cleaned up and ate leftovers and cleaned up again. Sunday, the company went home and we began to pack for our skiing trip, leaving on Monday. 

End of Part 1.  Come back in a couple of days for part 2.

Confucius Says....

I don't think Confucius is going to say anything in this blog post, but I certainly feel confused.  I've rather had the props knocked out from under me, and after two years of struggling to understand and accept my role as gramma/caretaker, that one is gone, and I have to get used to another one, that includes mother in law, and farther away gramma. 

I know real life isn't "clear-cut and trimmed off, as they are in novels"**, there are struggles every day and I am finding I don't adjust very quickly when I'm stressed and tired.  I'm still raising a couple of teenagers too, thank you very much!  And they like to have me around part of the time, even though they don't act like it most of the time.

It is very hard to work with toddler attention span and teenage attention span at the same time, because it IS at the same time, kids don't take turns when they want attention.

So, here we are.  I am no longer "full time" gramma. I won't have Zane around everyday to enjoy and clean up after, and take pictures of, and blog about, and get exasperated with. 

I will have him some days, and I will enjoy and appreciate him more.  But my life has changed so this blog will change.  I will be able to do more things that I enjoy.  So, I'm hoping this blog will reflect some of those things, now, too.  I like to write, scrapbook, crochet, knit, take photographs, chronicle my kids' lives, and who knows what else will pop up in here.  There will still be Zane around some, but the rest of us are still here, too.  There is more of ME here, too.  So, as I'm still coming to terms with what I'm going to do with myself, mind and body, now.  I hope you'll enjoy being along for the ride





**if any one knows where I got this quote from, I will send them a homemade prize, up to five prizes, just in case there are hundreds out there that I don't know about.

The Changing of the Guard

It has been a really long time since I posted any new posts.  I mostly planned it that way, but December is also a very busy month.  We have extra company all through the month of December for one thing, and usually plan some sort of trip and then with kids home from school.....blog time just ain't happenin'.

So this post is going to highlight just one of the big changes in our lives. 

The marriage of our oldest daughter! 

It is a very different stage of life when your children start acting like adults and making decisions on their own. And in this case Lorene getting married leaves not only one hole in our house and our lives, but two. 

(Of course, since they are still storing some of their things in the basement, some of that isn't noticeable yet.)

I'll admit, I was getting worn out with complete care of Zane 15+ hours in a week, trying to keep my house tidy and meet the needs of everyone else in the house, but still, I find myself turning around to see where Zane is.  We'll have to have him over real soon.  (But, I want to finish my painting first.)

I'm not really capable, (at least at the moment, and maybe not ever) to write beautiful words of love and marriage, loss and gain, but here's the story:

Lorene and Aaron were married January 3, 2011 at the Buffalo County Courthouse at 10 am.  They were attended by their immediate families who were dressed nicely in their colors, dark red and black.  Lorene was 19 years old that day.  After the brief ceremony, very bad pictures were taken at the bride's home and the party had lunch at San Pedro's.  (During which the mother of the bride got sick and spent the rest of the day in bed.  The illness had nothing to do with the food or the fact that her oldest daughter was married, she succumbed to a virus.) The bride and groom are living on the edge of Grand Island in a tiny little apartment. 

Unfortunately, everyone else in this household (except Nathan who never gets sick at convenient times) played host to the virus eventually, which is part of the reason why I'm so late making any sort of post at all.  For those who are dying to see pictures, here are the ones taken by someone who knew what they were doing.  I am  hoping that my very bad pictures can be salvaged, so that they can be used as family pictures this year.

An Appetizing Story

I would like to lose a little weight.  I also have a daughter who likes to cook very fattening things.  We mastered egg rolls a while back and decided to move on to crab rangoons.  I love them and she loves them, so both of us were up to the challenge on this fine Saturday with no Zane around.

Crab Rangoons
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
8 oz. crab meat, finely chopped
1/2 t. soy sauce
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
pepper to taste
1 1/2 green onion, sliced
1 t red onion
1 large clove garlic minced

1 pkg wonton wrappers

Now, I used imitation crab because it was half the price of the real thing, and a tablespoon and a half of white onion, since I have a half bushel of them from the garden. and minced garlic from a jar. Don't forget the pepper, we did and then had to add it later.  It makes a big difference. Then I whipped it all with the mixer.

To assemble the rangoon, put the crab mixture, wonton wrappers and a bowl of water efficiently together.

Wet each edge of the wrapper, and put a heaping teaspoon of crab in the middle and then pinch up into a package or fold over into a triangle, making sure all edges are sealed.

Fry in 3" of hot oil.

and eat.

Beautiful!!

Tips For A Clean House

Dear Folks,
This is going to be my last post for awhile.  At least one with very much typing.  This is going to be done slowly all day.  Last week, I went on a knitting binge, after I started a new crocheting project.  I noticed I had some tingling in the tips of my fingers, but ignored it.  It has happened before.  Then my right wrist and forearm started to hurt, and my hand to fall asleep at night.  So, I went to the chiropractor, I looked "carpal tunnel" up on the internet, I started taking Aleve, I put on a brace, I quit knitting, and I quit using the computer.(Well, mostly quit, I'm typing with my left hand, otherwise, it hurts and my fingers go numb.)

So, of course it is taking me longer to get everything done.  And I am having Zane sometimes 8 hours a day, and that takes me longer to get everything done. So, I sometimes don't get much of anything done, except feeding people and laundry. 

And everyday there are floors to clean, clothes and toys to pick up, dishes to do, stray items to put away, and the usual detritus of a normal day. And dusting and bathrooms need done sometimes, too.

So, what to do?  How about raising your own cleaning team?  One that works while you're gone, one that does a good job, one that has to be really bored before they even think about doing it on their own.

We were going to see Aunt Inez for her birthday, we went early, since we will be gone on the day, and Lorene threatened to rearrange the living room.  I told her to "have at it", just vacuum under things.  We had already been tidying up, picking up the paper, and toys, and, dishes, and big pieces of cracker. Lorene was vacuuming already, and Lynette had her homework done.

We came home to not only a rearranged living room, but vacuumed carpet, mopped kitchen, washed dishes, a couple of organized cupboards and drawers, cleaned and decorated counters, and a clean and organized fridge. 

WOW!!!

I think I'll keep them after all.

The fruit of the labors:

Things left as usual:

Piano books

Toys at the end of the day.

My stuff

Snacks before bed, but notice the cute little pine trees.

And the girls, said, "this was easy", "this didn't take very long", "what do you do all day?"

Now, all you moms and grandmoms out there can pick yourselves up off the floor, now, and stop laughing.  Perhaps you better make a cup of tea to help you calm down.

After those girls made the above comment, Jim reminded them, that I have Zane most of the day. To which they answered, "we did all this and had Zane, too!" But, it came out a little later, that they took turns entertaining Zane while the other worked.

Well, thanks to them, I didn't have to pick up any thing out of the living room this morning, I didn't have a load of dishes to do, I didn't have to pick up toys, I didn't have a lot of things here and there that get left out by me or other members of the family after I've declared it the end of the day and I need to go to bed.

It's easier to keep the counters, sinks, floors, etc. clean when they start out that way and that leaves me with a little more time to do what I usually do all day:

Get dressed, make bed, swish bathroom, tidy bedroom, make breakfast for Jim, make breakfast for Lynette, change and dress Zane, make breakfast for Zane, clean kitchen, clean Zane, clean high chair, clean floor, change Zane, bathe Zane, feed Zane snack, follow Zane, say 'no candy', get him off the table, get him out of the candy, get him some juice, put him in time out for throwing raisins on the floor, read to Zane, cuddle Zane, follow Zane some more, say 'no candy', put a load of laundry in, show Zane how to stack blocks, duck as he throws them, play with Zane's toys, make lunch for Zane and I, make lunch for Jim, wipe yogurt off the carpet and wall, tell him to play with his loader with the blocks, kiss Zane's booboo, get the colors for Zane (he asked for them, unh,unh, point), get paper for Zane, watch to make sure he doesn't color anything but paper, not watch closely enough, take his photo book away after he colored and spit on it, change Zane,

check laundry, restart laundry (Zane opened the door just as it started), follow Zane again, say 'no candy', get jeans off the line from Friday's washing, kiss another booboo, listen to Zane play happily with a car while I'm at the computer, follow Zane, say 'no candy' AGAIN, give Zane to his mother at 1:30, pick up Zane's blocks, colors, and bath toys.

and I was doing this all while I did my home bills and blogged a couple minutes at a time.

And for the rest of the day, I am going to think about packing, get school photos ready to go, stamp some letters, pay some bills, dry and fold clothes, get Lynette late from school after a make up test, take her to TKD, make supper, type some estimates for Jim, get Lynette from TKD, eat supper, and make sure the house is clean again before I go to bed. 

Do you know where I can find good help?

Champion at Last

This weekend we went to Franklin for a Taekwondo Tournament. Franklin is quite a ways away, it takes an hour to drive there.  One thing about participating in a non-traditional sport is the lack of close competition.  We very often drive an hour to tournaments. 

This particular tournament was very small.  The first year we came here, Lynette's friend from class won grand champion in youth color belt form, and last year Nathan won Grand Champion in youth black belt form.

With students from our school taking a grand champion two years in a row, Lynette was just eaten up with the desire to win a grand champion trophy herself. 

And that is part of the problem.  While the desire to win goes a long way, it needs to be backed up with hard work in practicing the skills needed.  And Lynette was in a slump.  She has been unsettled ever since our school changed instructors.  She has been used to being instructed with a mature teacher with plenty of experience under his third degree black belt, and now is being taught by college students with very little experience.  It is a difficult adjustment because she needs to take more responsibility for her own learning.  To see where she needs to improve and be proactive in asking for it, and working on it.  Thus, her attitude has been down, where it is usually over the top. 

Competing Saturday, made  a big difference.  There weren't enough adults (16+) for judging, so she was elected to help out, even though she is 15.  So, it was a big day, first the board breaking, which she had a cool break and I had a camera operator glitch, and not only got bad pictures, I couldn't get the video going. 

So, you'll just have to use your imagination. She did a jump double break with both legs split, and came down immediately to a hammer fist on the ground. She didn't break the left board the first time, but did the second and got a first. She has trouble with that left leg.  (She can do this, really.)

Then is was judge, judge, judge, forms, padded sword sparring, regular sparring.  And her first time, too.  She did very well, her scores were compatible with the older judges.  It is nerve wracking work, but that is part of the deal when you get to be a black belt.  There are responsibilities as well as the fun.

Then came the form part of the competition.  Lynette does forms very well, but she wasn't as prepared as she could have been or as confident.  And, she knows that her teammate (the one who won grand champion two years ago) can blow her away in forms.  And she did.  Lynette got third, removing any chance of getting a grand champion trophy in forms. 

She was MAD.  I knew it.  It was the kind of mad that spurs Lynette on to really good performance.  It's the kind of mad that works really well when sparring is the next event.  I knew what was going on in her mind.  She was going to win that event, no matter what.  And she did.  I have never seen her spar that hard or with such determination.  And where some people when they get mad, they spar so aggressively, someone gets hurt or they get warnings.  But not Lynette.  She was quick, and clean, and fast.  She was in a division with 5 young women all older than she was.  She won the first match by four points, the second match by two.  And then the final match, for first and grand champion women's sparring, she was facing two 2 minute rounds.  At the end of the first two minutes the girls were tied 3-3, Lynette would get a point, and her partner would match it.  Lynette said she knew she needed a bigger margin, and pushed up a notch to make a two point spread just as the match ended. 

She did it.  And she was happy!  And we were proud.  I was so nervous through the whole match.

  

 Not very many people go to a TKD tournament.  Usually all the people there are competitors and sometimes some extra family.  Not all the competitors even stay to the very end. 

Here is a picture of what a tournament is for the competitors and the spectators:

The competitor has to be able to set up her board breaks, tell the judges what she is going to break, give warning, and break.  They are judged on a 9.0 scale.  

Set up 

Ready,... jump.

Forms

Well, here is NOT a picture of what a tournament is like, since I can't get the videos to load.

Accepting 3rd Place

Judging

Sparring

No video here either.

At the end of the first 2 minute match.

First Place

Grand Champion

I think she looks pretty pleased with herself!

Family and Friends

My aunt and uncle visited us this Sunday.  They are on a little trip through Nebraska and seeing various relatives on the way to my mom's.  I love these people.  I wish they didn't live 10 hours away so we could see them every week.  So we could do lunch and supper and shopping.  So we could laugh and talk and listen.  So we could take advantage of their wisdom.  We visited them every five years since we were married, until this year, and this five years we met at two funerals, their daughter and our neice/cousin, and our family reunion.  This five years it has been harder to get around to see anyone.  With teens working and going to school and growing up and not wanting to travel anywhere except World's of Fun, or some equally busy place. Visiting relatives they don't know very well, doesn't rank high on the list of busy fun.  I'm glad that before they turned into teenagers we had fun there, the kind of fun I hope they remember when they grow up a bit more and remember when.  

The kind of busy life I have now isn't always fun, and it does seem to limit long trips.  And Jim's schedules aren't much better.  We have a hard time getting employees, and the one we need to be able to organize and take Jim's place when he's gone, doesn't seem to be out there.

So, we ate and talked and laughed and listened and did dishes and shared our guest room.  We made the most of the little time everyone has when busy people cross paths with other busy people.  I'm always a little sorry some of those times aren't longer, but I'm always glad they come at all. 

What I really love everytime I see them, is how happy they are, and it is an earned happiness, it isn't happiness because they've never had anything hard happen.  They are happy because they choose to be.

There is a Reason...

 for all the mess in my house. 

While Zane is looking all innocent in these photographs, looks can be deceiving.  I rejoice in the fact that Zane is a little easier to take care of these days, since he understands what I'm saying and I don't let him get away with thinking he doesn't. In fact, this morning he actually spent 10 minutes playing with his car in the kitchen while I was finishing up bookwork on the computer.  In fact, right now, he is playing with his toys right behind me and I'm not having to get up and protect the cupboards and the fridge.  Wow!! This is amazing, this is so NICE, this is so better hurry up and finish this post before I have to jump up. 

Some days I think I should put everything movable under lock and key.  When Zane goes through the kitchen he likes to dump the basket of cookie cutters, (to hear the crash, no doubt,) since he seldom does anything with them except try to feed them through the vent at the bottom of the fridge. Anytime I want to get anything done, he is dumping, spreading, opening, so that if I ignore him for even 5 minutes as he is busily entertaining himself, he has given me at LEAST 15 minutes of picking up after I'm done. He spent a good more than 5 with the salt he dumped on the table a couple of days ago, spreading it very evenly across half of it.  He did a nice job, too.  Perhaps he could get employment spreading grass seed or something.

Pure Innocence.

 Of course, these photos don't show what Zane was up to.  I was TRYING to make the bed, Jim started but the two of them were wrestling around in the sheets, so I gave up.

And we had to sleep on a bare mattress that night. 

just kidding

 And doesn't he look so cute smashed into the Lego box. 

At least he did until he decided he needed to be pushed around in it.  Since I am the only one with good enough knees WILLING to push him.  I was elected.  (It seems like the KIDS around here who should be doing it are gone when Zane wants to be pushed. If he DOESN'T want to be pushed, well, they are there with bells on.

You can't see much mess because I cropped it out, and didn't publish the really bad one, I should have, it was just toys. There will be other photos, since toys will be around for awhile.

I'm just glad I didn't look as big from the behind as I thought I might. 

The End