Oops! Forgot to Share My Thanks!

I really did post my "thankful" idea yesterday but it was on Facebook!  So yesterday I was thankful for my job at Cannonsburg.  I'm thankful that my boss took a chance and hired me, even though I'm goofy and a clutz!  Thank you, Wendy!  I love working with you!

And I'm Done With One

Last night was my last night of work for banquets.  The lodge is now officially closed for banquets and will quickly change over in preparation for the ski and snowboard season.  We're supposed to get more snow this year than last, it's supposed to come earlier and perhaps stay a little later.  We'll see.  In any event, the lodge is shooting for a December 1st opening and I promise you I will have one kiddo who's thrilled to pieces and can't wait!  He had a nightmare yesterday that he looked out the window and there was snow everywhere.  He grabbed his snowboard but each time he went out the door, the snow would disappear and it would be like summer time.  He'd go back inside and look out and he'd see snow...he'd go outside and it would be summer again.  He said he cried in his dream.  =)

It's a good thing banquets are finished.  You see, I'm a clutz by nature, so throw me into a room filled with tables, chairs and people sitting close together, I am set up to clutzify for sure (and did I ever!)!  The bride's family had beautiful white chair covers placed on the chairs with a large black bow on the back.  Well, as I was putting salad dressings on the tables, apparently I dribbled on the seat cover.  I had some people come up to me and tell me their seats (assigned seating at this reception) had dressing on it.  Crap.  We didn't have extra seat covers!  So I wiped it up (and the woman said, "That's not good enough!  You know whoever sits there will have oil stains on their clothes!"  Duh, ya think?  (Well, that's what I WANTED to say to the idiot!)  I placed a white cloth napkin over the top and they were satisfied.

As I was clearing hors d'ourves plates, I tripped on a man's oxygen tank and almost ripped the tubes out of his nose.  Fortunately, he just had to readjust them behind his ears!  I wished the floor opened up and swallowed me right then and there.  But that's not the worst of it...

As I was clearing salad plates, I didn't realize the bride was in back of me.  Yes, I was standing on the bride's wedding gown.  I was mortified.  She even looked at me like I was the world's biggest idiot.  Well, all I can say about that is even IDIOTS don't have eyes in the back of their heads, Missy!  And I was there first!  Does that argument hold?

I'm sad the job is over for the year as it was a wonderful paycheck.  The work wasn't very difficult and the job paid extremely well.  So until next April, I will no longer work banquets so for all you brides, grooms, families and friends, you're all safe from me until then!

30 Days of Thanks

Once again, I have accepted the challenge of the 3rd Annual 30 Days of Thankfulness.  SO!  Here's my first installment of something I'm thankful for:

Today, I am thankful for doctors, nurses, surgeons and specialists, especially the ones who performed the surgery on my mother-in-law today.  She came through with flying colors (no cancer) and will be coming home earlier than expected tomorrow!

Goulash

I cook.  A LOT.  I really like it.  But the way I cook is to either look at a cookbook and close it while I'm cooking or just whip something together from memory.  I rarely follow a recipe which means my dishes turn out differently each time I make them.  We NEVER have the same thing more than once.  It all depends on how I feel that day!

My husband claims that one entree I create comes out pretty tasty each and every time even if it tastes different each time.  Goulash.  Funny about this one:  I usually make it with whatever I have on hand.  First, I start with ground beef or turkey browned with onions, celery and lots and lots of fresh garlic.  I like to throw in some great northern beans for extra protein, home-grown corn and my own stewed tomatoes.  That's what gives it such great taste:  home-grown tomatoes stewed with additional onions, peppers and usually some shredded zucchini tossed in!  Seasonings?  Whatever I see that looks good to me.  Usually oregano, additional garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.  Noodles?  Yeah, whatever I may have on hand at the time.  This time I had a huge bag of second noodles that I bought at a discount shop in Shipsewanna, Indiana.  (Honestly, how a noodle can be considered a "second" is beyond me...they all look the same width and length but hey...I found a 4 pound bag for $1.92!) They're small, fine egg noodles usually used in chicken noodle soup.  They also work great in goulash!  

Like any good cook on t.v. does, before I serve my dishes, I taste it to make sure it tastes good.  It was missing something this time, a little more than just salt.  When there's a lack of flavor as well as sodium, I will add a teaspoon or two of bouillon, but not just any bouillon.  I only use Better Than Bouillon because I love it's rich, natural, robust flavor.  AND I can buy an organic version that's fat-free, GMO free, non-irradiated and 95% organic.  I always make sure I have the chicken, beef and vegetable variety on hand at all times for all cooking purposes.  Love it!!

Once I added the beef bouillon and let it simmer for a few minutes, it was so unbelievably delicious that my husband couldn't stop eating it!  I had to admit I had a little more than I should have, too.  I can do goulash.  Yeah, I sure can!  Toot toot!

Funerals and LOTS of Them!

My Mom has been a funeral luncheon coordinator at her church for many years now.  It's kind of funny...I remember after my Grandma passed away how touching the funeral luncheon was, seeing all the ladies working so very hard to make our luncheon so wonderful.  I made a point of getting involved in funeral luncheons so I would be able to offer the same love and support we received.  I was the one who asked my Mom to go to a meeting with me at church!  And that's how she ended up in funeral luncheons.

Since October 1st, we have had 6 funerals.  I'm praying that no one else passes away between now and October 31st because quite frankly, we need a break.  You see, I personally don't work at every one of them because I work at other jobs.  But when I AM available I do work.  Initially my job is to call for all the donated salads and desserts a couple days before.  Sounds easy, no?  Well, it's not rocket science so in that sense, it's easy.  But the difficulty arises when I sit down with the list of people who signed up to donate dishes and make 18 calls to find that only 2 people will answer their phones!  It's a lot of time on the phone and sometimes I even get yelled at by these people.  Christians.  Go figure.  At least I didn't get yelled at this time.  My sister, Sherry, did!  =)  

Today was a long day but one filled with many blessings.  We see families who come in after burying their loved ones in the cemetery, often times with tears still in their eyes, and we offer them food made from the heart and served from the heart, too.  They're surrounded by their close friends and family and by the time the luncheon is over, the family is laughing and talking and reminiscing about the good times and it's beautiful.  It's a beautiful ministry and I'm so glad to be a part of it.

I'm SO Blessed!

Today I celebrated my birthday and it was better than I could have ever imagined!  I slept in until 9:00 a.m. and when I awoke, Jon was up.  I made us some breakfast and we had such a nice time talking.  Then Maddie and Chris awoke at 10:00 and it hit me:  ROAD TRIP!

I asked if the family wanted to go to B & G Discount in Schoolcraft, Michigan.  Chris decided to stay home with the puppy so my son and daughter went with me.  The ride takes an hour and 10 minutes and we had such a good time talking, laughing, listening to music and just sharing our thoughts freely with one another.  

Then the shopping!  SO fun to shop at a store like that with them.  There's no rhyme or reason to what they have at the shop (it's more like an unclaimed freight store) and shoppers literally need to pick in the boxes and go up and down every aisle to see what's offered. 

Jonathan found some amazing tools, knives, winter caps and hunting gear.  Maddie found "girly" items likes fuzzy socks, writing journals, coloring books, jewelry and winter hats.  

Me?  I found a couple of items (like the amazing deal of a dozen fuzzy gloves for $8.00!).  But more importantly, I was able to spend the morning with my sweet children and see the joy and excitement on their faces.  These are days in which the blessings abound and I thank God daily for my amazing family.  

After shopping?  Straight to back-to-back basketball games and youth group.  And now, it's time to tuck everyone in and happily fall asleep to dreams of a beautiful day.  

It's Over

Today was bitter sweet.  It was the last day of my son's rocket football...forever.  It's been five years of Rocket Football and it's done.  =(  But, now we're looking forward to 78ers and then right into Freshman football after that so it's not as though football is done for good.  Just this chapter is closing.

Today was also my daughter's last day of Rocket cheerleading!  And the worst part?  I was decorating a cake and didn't get to go!  Chris said she did a great job and was there to yell and cheer and support her on my behalf.  

We may have many more years of cheerleading, so I'm not terribly sad she's done.  It'll be nice to have no practices and having to be at football fields every Saturday, rain or shine, warm or cold.  It'll be nice to sleep in and spend some quality family time together.  Ahhh, life IS good!

I Messed This Up

I'm trying to learn new things, one being how to decorate the blog.  It's not working out so well for me, and I'm terribly sorry it looks the way it does!  

I will do my best to learn more and get this cleaned up.  I just wanted a seasonal theme and it's not working so well at this time.  Bear with me and I'll get it - I promise!  =)

19 Years...

19 years ago today I married my husband.  It was a beautiful fall day with sun shining and a crisp, chill in the air.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  And what a beautiful celebration that brought our families together for the wedding ceremony (which was at 1:00) and then get-togethers at my Mom and Dad's house for my relatives and a get-together at Chris' Grandma and Grandpa's house for their family.  Reception at 6:00 so there was a lot of time in between to entertain!

I can't believe it's been 19 years.  SO much has happened in these years:  deaths of family and friends, births of our children and nephews, nieces, cousins and friends' kids, lots of moving and experiencing different parts of our amazing country, making friends in all the places we lived, traveling all over the U.S. and even a trip to Germany, many different jobs, hardships, illnesses, surgeries, many college classes, lots of churches we worshipped in, lots of laughter, lots of love, lots of tears and so much in between.  It's been quite a ride!  And one that I would choose over and over and over again.  Would I change some things?  Well, I might be tempted to say yes, such as avoiding unemployment, but when I reflect back on those hardships, it made us stronger, more resilient and increased our faith.  How could we trade that?

Happy Anniversary to my husband, Chris.  It's been a great life and I'm looking forward to many more years!

Poop Licker

I am SO grossed out.  No wonder I have never had a dog living in the house with me before this.  It's almost unbearable.

The wedding reception went late last night as I had to stay and re-set the room after the reception was done for a job fair scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.  By the time we cleaned, broke the room down, vacuumed, re-set the room and shut down, it was already after 12:30.  I didn't get home until close to 1:00 a.m.  

Needless to say, I was very tired when I came home.  I was in my bathroom washing up when I heard the puppy come in behind me.  I have a dish of water in there for my cats and I heard the puppy lapping up the water.  Brain not working well, I thought, "Boy, she's really thirsty!"  Then it hit me:  she shouldn't be drinking so much water this late because she'll just have to go out and go potty soon.  So I turned to stop her and she wasn't at the water bowl!  I looked and saw her in the shower.  I thought she was licking up water leftover from my husband's shower.  Nope.  Not even close.

After my cat had emergency surgery in May, he's had some challenges with the litter box.  Hurley won't go unless it's perfectly clean and doesn't smell (meaning we have to have fresh litter in the box at all times - easier said than done).  So he's been finding a pristine place to urinate and also for bowel movements.  My shower!

You got it.  Hurley pooped and this little dog that I once thought was too adorable for words is now a cat poop licker upper.  She lost a lot of her cuteness, I can tell you that!  I yelled at her to stop and she kept going at it.  I started to gag (remember when I was laughing at my husband for gagging cleaning up the dog poop?) and yelled for my husband.  It was about 1:30 a.m. and, although he was still up because he waits for me to get home, he wasn't too quick.  I grabbed the dog, tossed her out the door, turned around to clean up the mess and the dumb little poop licker is SO fast she was already back at it!  I gagged again, this time almost throwing up, and grabbed the little creeper a second time.  I tossed her out and tried to keep my foot on her to keep her back.  She was like a bull charging.  Chris finally came it and got the dog.  AND he cleaned up the cat poop.  

Sadie tried to lick me after that.  Like I'm going to let THAT ever happen again.  NOT.  Sick.  Gross.  I think she's going to need her mouth cleaned out with a disinfectant.  I'm not even sure I want to reach in there to do that!  All I can say now is, "Why?????????"

Winning, Wind and Weddings

What a day today!  My son and daughter had football games today and wouldn't you know it?  We have high wind advisories with gusts over 50 miles per hour and with the wind chill?  It felt like 43 degrees today.  Brrrrrrr!

My son's team won their football game today at the high school stadium.  I'm quite pleased as the team has lost their last 3 games.  =(  The team isn't very good about blocking and a lot of the kids just stand there and watch as the other team flies around them.  It's been disappointing to watch so today was a good day for the team.  They needed this win!  Jonathan had a pretty good game, too.  He made a touchdown, scored a 2-point conversion and ran for a lot of yards.  And he's very sick!  I can't imagine how well he would have done if he was feeling well!

After Jon's game, Maddie cheered.  I didn't get to stay and watch because I brought Jonathan home to shower and drug up.  He's coughing so hard he's vomiting.  Not fun for him at all.  Chris stayed with Maddie and said she did a great job cheering in the chilly wind today!  She was very happy to come home and get warmed up, though.

And now, I am off to work at a wedding reception.  Hopefully the guests and the bride and groom won't get blown away by the gusts (and I'm hoping to get out of work early because I'm very tired!).  

Enjoy the beautiful fall colors!

Dirty Shoes

We don't claim to be masters of anything.  I freely and honestly admit that.  Including potty training a puppy.  That's not going so well.  We have Sadie trained to the point of the front door.  She knows she has to go and she's supposed to go outside.  She just can't open the door and we haven't figured out a way for her to tell us she has to go.  Yup, she's been laying down poop at the front door two times now.  I'm just happy it's not on the carpet as tile is a LOT easier to clean up.  But still.  It's smelly, disgustingly gross and highly unsanitary.

So what do I do with a husband who doesn't smell and/or see it and walks THROUGH it, not realizing that he did as he walked DOWN the stairs on the carpeted steps to see if he can figure out where the SMELL was coming from and walks back UP the stairs before he realizes what he did?  I have to be honest.  I'm not sure what situation is worse.  The puppy or the hubby?

As I type this, my dear (sometimes doofus) husband is cleaning up the mess.  Occasionally I have a wicked giggle escape as I hear him start to gag (I know, I'm quite mean!) but it's a good lesson for him to learn.  I guarantee he'll never step in poopy again.

Now if only I can figure a way for the puppy to communicate that she needs to go outside, life would be, well, back to normal.  Sort of.

God's peace to you all!

Cakes Galore!

My mom taught herself how to decorate cakes and she always made us the prettiest birthday cakes, year after year, when we were growing up.  It was always so special to be able to choose the color of our flowers for our cakes!  We also loved eating the leftover frosting on graham crackers...my Mom was so cool!  

Shortly after my daughter was born, I took a Wilton decorating class with a couple of my girl friends.  I was very unsure if I would be any good because I really don't have any notable skills.  It was fun and I realized that I DID have a talent:  I can make frosting roses like no one's business!  And it turned out that I am pretty good at almost all of the flowers:  violets, poinsettias, mums, daffodils, daisies - I found a creative niche!

I'm very anti-fondant as I think it tastes like crap, plain and simple!  I'm not going to go through the time and work to make a delicious, moist cake and not have good frosting on the top.  It's a package deal.  And yes, fondant is amazing to work with because it's smooth, easy to cut out shapes, and it's easy to create forms and designs in the fondant.  It looks beautiful.  But I'm into the look AND the taste - it has to be joy on the taste buds.  So I boycott fondant and strictly use only buttercream frosting.  I even skip royal icing because who likes to chip a tooth on a hard flower that looks pretty but tastes like a rock?  Everything made in royal can also be made in buttercream if you know what you're doing.  And I think I do!  =)  So here's some pictures of cakes I've made.  No fondant, just pure buttercream goodness in every bite.

Princess Fairy

My nephew's graduation cake using an edible cake topper from The Memory Boutique!

Order YOUR cake topper here at The Memory Boutique using your very own picture!

What's to explain?  It's a soccer ball... =)

Ignore the mess in the background...just look at the cake.  It's an erupting volcano.  Did you get that?

Lady bug using the Wilton pan.  I think from now on I'll use my own pans to form the body.  She looks funny!

Whipped this baby out in 30 minutes for my son.  He likes football.   A LOT.

Bad lighting but it shows the pretty roses on top!

It's hard to make a bad-ass cop car using a VW bug pan.  Oh well.  It's a "Herbie" cop car!

Love lattice!  Lighting is bad in the pic but the more I look at it, that's good because the lattice isn't straight!

Just plain fun.

First Communion cake for a boy.

My daughter's First Communion cake.  

I love this.  It looks so pretty on the side (and it covers up a lot of non-smoothing-of-the-frosting issues!)

My daughter's 9th birthday - my son helped decorate this cake which was a flower pot.

I have three orders pending and I'm sure to have fun creating these:  one over-the-hill cake, one tarantula cake and a cupcake order for a sweet little girl to take to school for her treat.  Just for the record, I'm not licensed so I am legally not able to "charge" for my cakes.   But most people have been generous and made donations to my children's "college" funds.  It works out in the end.  =)  

There's No Room for Bullies

Plain and simple.  Bullies do NOT belong ANYWHERE.  We're dealing with a personal situation involving bullying and I can tell you that it HURTS, it's SAD, it's INFURIATING and I will not tolerate it.  

If you know someone who's been bullied, won't you take a moment and let them know that they are wonderful, special, necessary, unique and loved (and any other adjective describing how great they are)?  They deserve to know how special and loved they are and that they do NOT deserve to be treated this way.

If you know someone who IS a bully, won't you take a moment to enlighten them?  NO ONE likes a bully.  As a matter of fact, people have very negative feelings and attitudes towards bullies.  Who wants to be disliked so much?  Bullying also means that this individual(s) has some self-esteem issues.  Help them get help so they can heal and stop hurting others.  It takes a village to raise a child and it also takes a village to help them with their issues.  Don't turn your back on anyone in need and don't be afraid to speak up for what's right.  It can make all the difference in the world to someone in need.

Sadie, Sadie, Sadie

I found I have a little time between sick children and getting them (and myself) to bed.  So here's the puppy story!

Jon & Maddie with Chloe

We ended up getting Chloe, the blind-in-one-eye dog.  The kids couldn't wait to get her home after meeting her last Sunday afternoon (especially Maddie) so, after church, my husband took the kids to pick her up.  I was teaching a faith formation class so I warned them I wouldn't be around to help until almost 9:00 p.m. but they wanted to get her anyway!

When I came home, the dog was on the futon with Maddie.  Chloe was shaking terribly bad.  She vomited shortly before I came home and I noticed that she was running into walls and falling down the steps as she had no depth perception.  It was terribly sad.  She even walked down the hallway right into our cat, Hurley.  She didn't see him and he slapped her.  After that, her nose kept twitching because she was smelling everything.  I realized quickly that she was in fact blind in both eyes, not just the one.  It was a terrible night.  She wasn't eating, she wasn't going outside to relieve herself and she acted completely scared and nervous.  

My husband said we should take her back and I agreed with him.  So the next day, I made the difficult decision to return this free doggy.  I cried.  My kids cried.  I cried all the way there and I cried like a baby while I was there!  The poor woman felt so bad for me and my family that she offered us a puppy.  

The REALLY good news is that my Aunt Margie (who's been a widow since 1997) wanted to get another dog after her sweet dog, Penny, died a few months ago.  Aunt Margie called me on Monday out of the blue to order a cake and I had a feeling that I should mention the dog needed a good home.  Long story short she took Chloe home and they are wonderful for each other and madly in love!

Here's Sadie!

So yes, the kids went and saw "Baby Girl" and fell in love with her.  She's a bundle of energy and she's the perfect fit for our family.  Now if we can only get her potty trained, life will be good.  =)

Sleep Deprived

This is a long story saved for another day when I can think straight and type well.  In any event, the ending of that long story is that we have a puppy and her name is Sadie.  She's a Coton de Tulear and is a ball of energy.  She's like Tigger on steroids.  She's funny and makes us laugh.  She's also learning to potty train and she's a pain in the butt.  But we love her.  And I'll share the story how we ended up with this crazy little doggy another day.  For now, here's her mugshot:

Our Newest Family Member:  Sadie Carafeena Lyals (name chosen by the children!)