December 31, 2011 I. Did. It. #381

It's done. 2011 is in the record books and I kept a resolution for an entire year. It's with a sense of pride and disbelief that I bring you the year in review.

As of December 31 at 5:30 p.m., "Say Cheese!" has had 4,725 page views. January had 250 and December had 530. The stats show that there are readers in 7 foreign countries - the UK I can explain, but I'm scratching my head about Singapore, Ukraine and Ireland.

Luke and I had 20 meals together which were blog worthy.

Eight former or current KSU students made the cut.

Paul Mintner showed up 8 times. He was off to a great start in February, having 5 mentions in the shortest month of the year, but then either he got busy or got boring. (I'm leaning towards busy, because Paul Mintner will never, ever be boring. Love you, Paul!)

On 11 occasions I talked about politics. In order to be counted in this category, there had to be more than a mere mention of how much I dislike republicans in general and Sam Brownshirt in general.

My dad showed up 10 times by name, about 381 times in spirit!

This year went by so fast but as I read back over my blog, I am pleased that I packed a lot of life and a lot of laughs into the previous 365 days. I am fortunate that I am surrounded by people who love me knowing that what they do in my presence (or in my memory) is fodder for this blog.

I've decided that I am going to make this resolution again for 2012. There are 2 main reasons: 2012 is a leap year which means I will have 1 more day to blather on about and 2012 is a presidential election year which means that the repuglicans will be even more evil than usual. Someone has to write about it. It's not like anyone else will, right?



Thanks to CB and Luke for maintaining their sense of humor; to Steve for giving me the idea in the first place; to Jennifer, LouAnn, Susan, Jimmy, Princess Diane and Krista who read every day; to the letters "W", "T" and "F"; to Paul Mintner for great material; and to the 10 blog "followers" (2 of whom are Paul Mintner!).

It's been fun.

Let's see what kind of crazy shit I can find in 2012!

Come along for the ride. http://www.sarahpictureaday2012.blogspot.com/

December 30, 2011 101 Uses for Cream Cheese

Luke, CB and I don't have a lot of traditions around here. But, we do have one: snacks on New Year's Day. We all ask for our top 2 or 3 snacks and spend the first day of the new year grazing. It's heaven.

With all the appetizer options in the world you'd think I could come up with some that did not involve cream cheese other dairy based ingredient.

Here's what we're having:

Stuffed jalapenos (cream cheese)
Raspberry Chipotle dip (cream cheese)
Cindy B's Horseradish dip (cream cheese)
Cheese ball (cream cheese)
cheese dip (Velveeta - wait, does that count as a "dairy based ingredient"?)
sausage balls (a family favorite. Who knew sausages had balls?)
Shrimp
some other kind of dip that has sour cream in it
pickle wraps (cream cheese)

I am thinking that cream cheese is the duct tape of snacks.

December 29, 2011 Christmas: Part 2

Remember the Bubble Bread I was making for Luke for Christmas? How the "before" picture looked pretty harmless?

Ummmm, not so much.

Behold the "after" picture.

Note for next year: just because the specified number of frozen dough balls doesn't look like very many, do not, I repeat, do NOT add more. Seriously. Don't do it.

Oh, the Bubble Bread tasted great and the topping was yummy enough to eat with a spoon. But, there was some collateral damage done. The topping (sugar and butter) poured out of the cake pan to the bottom of the oven.

No harm done, I figured. I decided to just auto-clean the oven, which I did.

A little while later, I was talking to Brother on the phone and glanced at the stove. The oven was ON FIRE. There were flames and everything. After doing this Picture a Day nonsense for a year, you'd think I would have grabbed my camera before doing anything else. Alas. I did not.

The oven door was locked shut and I had to figure out a way to get the flames to go out. I decided to turn the stove off and hope for the best. The kitchen was full of smoke and Luke came downstairs to inquire as to the nature of the odors drifting throughout the house. CB was oblivious to all the excitement!

When the oven cooled enough, I picked out 5 large piles of burned lava, threw them away and started the cleaning process all over again.

This time without the flames.

It was more effective but less exciting.

December 29, 2011 Christmas: Part 1

Baby Jesus is in the manger, you know what that means!

Santa came! He filled our stockings so full that he had to put them on the coffee table. I love a full Christmas stocking, don't you?

In addition to filling our stockings, Santa left a bounty of gifts. A bounty, I say!

Luke got some KC Chiefs pants thanks to the combined efforts of me (buying the material) and Aunt Kim (turning the material into something wearable).

As always, Christmas has an aftermath. This year was no different.

December 28, 2011 Christmas Eve

Luke is home so that means our Christmas is tomorrow. Christmas morning means Bubble Bread for breakfast. I knew that so I had all the ingredients on hand. (Incidentally, the 409 in the background is not for the Bubble Bread. It's for the meat balls I made on Saturday.)

The frozen rolls are in the very old bundt cake pan awaiting a marvelous mixture of butter, cinnamon, chopped pecans, brown sugar and.....
butterscotch pudding that is NOT instant. I was so certain of my selection that I bought 3 of these.

Oops. Instant. See that word in really small print? Yeah, well clearly I missed it.

Time to send Luke to the store for the right stuff.

Not like that's ever happened before.

He came through for me, again, and Christmas breakfast will be wonderful! If I remember, there will be a picture, but if we've learned anything over the past year we've learned not to hold our breaths for a picture.

December 27, 2011 Outting with Brother

I love this entrance to Kansas State University. Particularly when there is no traffic (and no students!). I think the Christmas wreathes with their purple bows are so festive.

Brother wanted to wander around the grounds of the new Flint Hills Discovery Center which is nearly finished in Manhattan. He's quite a photographer and, had I been just a bit quicker, this picture would have been of him taking a picture.

But I wasn't and it isn't. It's just of Brother trying to blend in. With his KU hat and red jacket. In Manhattan.

Not gonna happen.

December 26, 2011 Smith Family Christmas

Today my family gathered for the food orgy that is Christmas dinner. All of us did our part to help the obesity level of Pottawatomie County and are glad we did.

Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy were my contributions. CB peeled and mashed the potatoes - I must give credit where credit is due!

Mom baked a ham and rolls and opened some kind of cranberry something that was pretty tasty. She also had several pies and tons of cookies.

Baby brought Brookville Corn.

Brother got in the way.

After lunch, we gave Momma our gifts. Can I just say that shopping for an 82 year old has its challenges? Momma was suitably pleased as all 3 children stepped up with presents; none of this "one gift from all of us" business this year.

If Mom still lived in Dodge City, next it would have been time to do yard work.

But she doesn't live in Dodge City, she lives in Wamego. Next was nap time.

Thank goodness. Eating that much and laughing that hard can sure tire a girl out.

December 25, 2011 Happy Curtis-mas!

Today is CB's birthday! Happy birthday to my dear, long suffering husband! Unfortunately, that Jesus guy seems to get top billing at every gathering but CB is a good sport about it. What with Jesus saying he's the son of God and everything.

Back when I was a believer, I put out the Nativity scene every year to reinforce the reason for the season. Now, I display it as part of the reasons for the season; the reasons being family, tradition, memories, gifts (lots and lots of gifts. Who are we kidding?)

Years ago, my stepmother made me this ceramic nativity scene. I love it because it took her so long to make, her name is on each piece and she made it especially for me. Luke played with it as he was growing up so there are nicks and chips. Several of the pieces have been glued back together after a particularly grueling session with Luke.

When Luke was about 4, he decided that the manger needed to remain empty until Christmas morning. Yes, Luke was a Sunday school goin' fool back in those days. If the church doors were open, we were there. Anyway, he would take the baby Jesus and hide him (sometimes I knew where Baby Jesus spent Advent, sometimes I didn't) and every Christmas morning, the babe would appear in the manger. If Luke was visiting his dad over Christmas, he would announce to me in a very grown up way that Jesus would not be in his manger until the day we celebrated Christmas and I was not to worry.

Once again, the manger is empty. Luke is 30, he's still hiding the baby Jesus.

I have no doubts that the baby will appear right before we open our Christmas gifts!


In case you are paying attention: there are 2 other wise men who didn't get in the picture (they were feeding the camel that didn't quite make it). Oh, and the many barnyard animals that shared their stable that night? Lost. Broken. 3 legged and can't stand up. The gray ox? Only has one ear.

I told you, these pieces have been loved well.

December 24, 2011 Tradition

It was a Christmas Eve when my brother, sister and I met our future stepmother's children in 1977. It was their tradition to have spaghetti - which made the Smith kids shake their heads in wonder.

It didn't take long, though, for the Smith kids to be converted!

We've spent many Christmas Eves around a table loaded with spaghetti, bread and salad. Great memories of family gatherings.

My stepmother's sauce recipe is one that she got in Chicago many years before she and my dad ever met. It's easy, it cooks all day, and fills the house with the fragrance of love. Then, you make it all the better by adding meatballs and country style ribs and let everything spend 3 or 4 hours getting acquainted.

My nephew came over for dinner and he said that he wasn't sure he remembered Grandma's spaghetti, but then he took a deep breath and remembered the aroma that was Christmas at Grandpa Judge and Grandma Hid's house.

I love traditions.

I love traditions that have to do with food most of all!

December 23, 2011 Another Kitchen Fail

I have the reputation of making a mean chocolate chip cookie. I must admit that they are pretty good, especially warm with a big glass of cold milk.

My recipe? The one on the back of the Toll House chocolate chip package. Nothing special, nothing tweeked.

Last weekend when we were in Denver, my sister in law was baking up a storm. She insisted that the chocolate chip cookies made with the recipe on the butter flavored Crisco were the best in the world.

I sampled one (okay, maybe more than one) and they were pretty great. I decided to change my habit and my cookie recipe.

Lesson learned: you should not mess with perfection. My Toll House cookies were perfect. Butter Crisco recipe cookies were not perfect. I must have done something wrong because they looked like something that came out of the back end of a miniature cow. They tasted okay if you could get past the whole cow patty appearance.

Which few people could.

December 22, 2011 STOP!!!

My "old" car was a 1997 Mazda that I've had for 12 years. It's shorter than my "new" car which has caused Luke some concern.

Why is Luke concerned? Glad you asked.

I pull my Mazda into the garage just far enough so the door will go down. I think it's better to have a lot of room in the front of the garage where people walk as opposed to behind the car. However, sometimes I don't get quite far enough in and the door grazes my car as it goes down. When that happens, I laugh and think how glad I am that my car is old.

Luke, on the other hand, is not so amused.

He decided to help me make sure I get my car far enough in by hanging a ball from the ceiling so I'd bump the ball when the door will clear the back of my car. Great idea, I thought.


And just in case I forgot what the hanging ball meant, he was kind enough to write "STOP" on it.

Guess I have discovered what mechanical engineers do!

December 21, 2011 I Have Such Power

Luke and I went for a spin in my new wheels. We ended up at Carlos O'Kelly's in Manhattan where we had a great meal and got caught up on all manner of important matters.

Afterwards, we tootled over the Hy-Vee to do just a bit of shopping - milk, bread, etc.

I saw this visor and thought I'd see if I could get Luke to put it on.

Me: Hey Luke. Try on this visor (said while digging in my purse for my camera).

Luke: Okay (said knowing that I was digging in my purse for my camera).

Me: Smile! (said while clicking the shutter).

Then, he let me take a second shot!

What a kid.

I suppose he is just thankful that I wasn't looking at cocktail dresses.

December 20, 2011 Will I Ever Get Home?

This was the scene outside our hotel room window this morning.

We got the truck out because it has 4 wheel drive, but needed the help of a bobcat to get my car out. Remember my comment on the day we went to Estes Park about not having boots? Well, we still don't have them!

Finally, we got on the road and headed east.

We drove 20-30 miles per hour from Hays to Salina. That's about 700 miles (or maybe it just seemed like that) on snow packed and icy roads. It was NO fun. At. All.

I made it clear before we left Hays that I was not happy about getting behind the wheel of my car, but CB said we needed to give it a try so off we went like a herd of turtles. Literally. I was passed by a couple of turtles I was driving so slow.

Finally, my phone rang, and CB reported that at the Saline County line, the roads were just wet and traffic was running at about 70 miles per hour. That news was music to my ears and it was true!

From Salina to Wamego, we drove like regular people and I got a chance to see how my car handles on the highway. Very well, in case you were wondering.

Going north on Highway 99, I took this picture of CB's truck. Please stare at it for 16 hours. It's what was front and center of my windshield from Denver to Wamego.

Oh, and I want to be clear about something, I decided around Colby that I would rather wrap my new car around a frickin' tree than listen to that god damn, no good, right wing, lying, son of a bitch Rush "Who Has My Drugs" Limbaugh. Because I was avoiding any fast movements, I couldn't turn my radio off fast enough and actually heard some of his drivel. What a sack of shit. Someone needs to pull that bastard's plug.

Not to put too fine a point on how I feel.

Buddy was waiting at the backdoor and Luke was waiting at the front.

It was good to be home.

December 19, 2011 Wintertime Adventure

Adventure Part 1:

CB and I went back out to Suss Motors and bought a car. We were in a bit of a hurry since there was a winter storm headed to western Kansas and we wanted to beat it.

While our salesman was AMAZING (Thanks, Kevin Kessinger! You rock!), unfortunately the paperwork took a bit longer than we anticipated thus giving the major winter snow storm a chance to arrive at I 70.


Yep, Kevin was a great guy and I love my car.

Adventure Part 2:

About 30 minutes east of Denver, we were in a freezing mist and visibility was zero. We were driving 30 miles an hour and I was having NO fun. Zero.

We passed several serious accidents, one was a double fatality which we heard about on the news later.

I followed CB and we talked on the phone every now and then. Mostly it was me saying "let's pull over" and CB saying "okay, in a little while".

Then it started to snow - horizontally. The storm was coming from the southwest and the wind was howling from the north (how does that even work?). Again, NO fun.

We were still driving about 30 miles an hour, sometimes much slower. Much, much slower.

At Hays, it was time to pull the plug and we got off the interstate. Just in time, too, as the traffic ground to a halt due to a jack-knifed semi.

Adventure Part 3:

We got a hotel room which in an of itself is not really an adventure. However, when we got in the room and there were signs posted prohibiting the cleaning of pheasants in the bathtub, I knew I was back in western Kansas.

Once CB pried my hands off the steering wheel, we went to dinner and this is what it was like outside:

Adventure Part 4 (the "I'm Old" portion):

There were 2 beds in the room.....one for each of us. Seriously: one for each of us.

When did I become an old woman who would rather sleep than have hotel sex? I think it was somewhere around Colby.

December 18, 2011 I Love the Mountains!

Today my brother took us to Estes Park for our traditional trek to Bear Lake. It was a glorious day; the sky was Colorado blue and the ground was covered with snow. There was just enough wind to make the pine trees sing. It was Colorado at its very best.

There was 19 inches of snow on the ground at Bear Lake and both CB and I were in our trainers so we didn't walk around the lake. Who goes to Colorado in December with boots, after all?

Do you see those people in the background? They were walking on the frozen lake. I've seen "It's a Wonderful Life" too many times to trust a frozen lake.

Heaven.

This is the Stanley Hotel, one of the most haunted places in the United States. I will never stay there overnight. I peed my pants while on the haunted tour - which is why I am not allowed to ever stay there. The Stanley Hotel people are peckish about bladder control issues.

Haunted or not, it's a magnificent building. But, it is haunted. Luke has proof...on the ill fated tour, he took 2 pictures of the room where Stephen King wrote "The Shining", one immediately after the other. When they were developed, one of the photos had a figure of some kind in front of the door.

Restraining order or not, I'm not ever staying there.

December 17, 2011 I'm an IDIOT.

It's established that I went to Colorado to attend a birthday party and see the 2 kids I babysat for 40 years ago. That's why I went. No other reason.

But, do I have a picture of the party? No.

Do I have a picture of me with the former kids (who are now amazing adults and parents themselves)? No.

Do I have any proof whatsoever that I attended a great party and had many laughs? No.

Was my camera in my purse? Yes.

Were there a hundred people there who could have taken the picture? Yes.

Am I a total dumb ass? Yes.

Trust me. Of all the photos I've taken this year, and all the ones I've missed, I am miserable about not getting a picture of those kids and me. Darn it.

So, to make up for not having what would have been my favorite picture of the day, here's a shot of a car I test drove.

CB read an article about a dealership which had a bunch of 2011 Impalas on sale (deep sale, I might mention). Just for fun, we found the car lot and looked around. I fell in love with this car. And it fell in love with me.

It's been 12 years since I bought my stepmother's car and it has nearly 200,000 miles on it so it was time for me to upgrade.

The only thing left to do was sleep on it.

The decision, not the car.

December 16, 2011 Westward Ho!

CB and I headed to Denver for a birthday party of a long ago friend and to see my brother and his wife. We were in no particular hurry, and the weather was wonderful, so we stopped in Hays and took a drive through my alma mater, Fort Hays State University.

This is Custer Hall where I was the residence hall director. It was a co-ed dorm and had a bar in the basement. Oh. Yes. It. Did.

There is no picture of the residence hall where I lived while in college because they tore it down. The bastards.

When I was at FHSU a new bar opened called "The Home". It was in the old Dillon's store and was amazing. At least what I can remember was amazing. I must admit that I did my share of drinking during the time I was in college. Oh yes indeedy, I did my share and the shares of about a dozen others. The Home is now called "Home Party Club". Pretty sophisticated, if you ask me.

Our next stop was in Goodland where we located the gigantic Van Gogh painting of sunflowers. It was quite a sight.

Right in the middle of nowhere.

December 15, 2011 Watch Dog

This is what Buddy looks like when he is watching over the estate. The smudges on the window are from Buddy's nose! He sits at this window a lot!

If he is not waiting at the back door (which he usually is), he is sitting at this window keeping an eye out for the arrival of his family.

Now, if you are not family, this is NOT what you see.

What you would see would be a large brown dog, full of teeth, barking loudly and jumping wildly. It could be Buddy is simply welcoming you into his home.

Or it could be that he is sizing you up for his next meal.

December 14, 2011 Is It Really December?

Tonight was haircut night, which as you know means pizza with the Funniest Man on Earth and his long suffering wife.

While getting beautified is wonderful in and of itself, and eating pizza afterwards is simply the icing on the cake, this time and temp picture told the full story:

WOW! You have to LOVE the weather in Kansas.

And if you don't, just stick around a minute or two. It will change.

December 13, 2011 The Bulge

When I was growing up, we walked to school. It was about a mile from our house to Central School. We walked every day. Rain or shine. Snow or sleet. Like a parade consisting of a dad and 3 children.

Sometimes, people would stop and ask if we wanted a ride. Dad would say "nope!" and we'd keep walking. No matter what, there would be no rides. We would walk.

If I complained about being cold, my dad would say "Do you know how cold it was in the Bulge?" I learned at a very early age about the Battle of the Bulge and that my dad fought in it. And that I am who I am because of that famous battle.

It was December, 1944. Dad and others in the 82nd Airborne Division in old stables built by Napoleon in Sissonne, France. One evening they watched "Saratoga Trunk" starring Gregory Peck and when they returned to the stables the 1st sergeant said to get ready to go in the morning. They were headed to Belgium.

The Germans had broken through and the Battle of the Bulge had begun.

The 82nd Airborne Division was taken by foot and by truck to Werbomont in Belgium. Dad told me that as they were headed north, there were others headed south. Dad wondered if they were going in the right direction, but being a good soldier, he kept marching and didn't ask any questions. There were grave concerns about gear, however. None of the troops had winter boots, hats or coats. It was getting very cold and no one was having any fun. No. One.

There is a monument in Werbonet, Belgium, in the countryside, sort of in the middle of nowhere that says "To the heroes of the 82nd U.S. Airborne Division - Verbomont remembers and is grateful. 1944-1984". The other side says "The 82nd Airborne Divisions sen tin emergency to the Ardenne landed here during the night of December 18. They went toward the invader to fight the hardest battle of their campaign."

In 2002, shortly after Dad died, my brother, sister and I went to England, France and Belgium to trace some of Dad's World War II journey. It was an amazing experience and it helped me to begin to understand that WWII not only molded who my dad was but who I am as well.

As I walked to school, or did anything I wanted to complain about, Dad would remind me that when he was just a kid of 18, he was fighting a long way from home. At times he was cold, he was scared, he was hungry, he was homesick, he was cannon fodder and people wanted to kill him. I began to see that I was (am) extremely lucky.

Christmas is special to me too because it was on Christmas that the Allied planes broke through and provided air support for those guys on the ground in the Bulge...guys like my dad.

One thing my dad learned from the war was his unending desire for peace. A peace that can't be obtained by more killing or invading or bombing.

So, don't whine and carry on the next time you're cold. You could be 18, in the Bulge, far away from home, carrying 3 back packs, barefoot.

The memory makes me smile through the tears tonight, but 50 years ago it pissed me off.

I did not, however, complain about it.

December 12, 2011 the Stockings Were Hung....

Our Christmas stockings are my favorite Christmas decorations. Even if I don't decorate the entire house, I always, always hang our stockings.

My stocking (on the right) was made by my great aunt. She made one for my brother, my sister and me. I have such wonderful memories of waking up early on Christmas morning and running downstairs with my brother and sister and finding our stockings filled to the brim! Always an apple and an orange and usually some other goodies, maybe a small toy.

I love that my stocking has "Sara" instead of "Sarah". One more bit of evidence that the rebel in me changed the spelling of my name in 3rd grade. Another story for another time.

Luke's stocking (on the left) makes my heart sing. When I was pregnant with him, I worked and worked on that stocking. We lived in the ghetto of Topeka and I was waiting to start law school. Back then sonograms weren't done as a matter of course, so the doctors didn't know if I was having a boy or a girl. But I knew. I just knew that I was going to have a little boy and that his name would be Luke. I put the name on the stocking about 3 days before Luke was born. His stocking was waiting for him when he came home 30 years ago.

What would I have done if he had been a girl? Named that girl "Luke", I guess!

CB's stocking is in the middle. Once I knew that he was going to be around for the long haul, I made his stocking.

Can I just say that I'm glad I have one husband and one child? Those stockings take forever!

December 11, 2011 Christmas Arrives!

Finally, CB and Luke got the Christmas decorations down for me.

The living room, before:

The dining room, before:

The front porch, after:

The Chiefs were getting their jocks handed to them, so Luke decided to help me decorate. We had such a great time! It was a beautiful if somewhat cloudy day, but that didn't slow us down a bit. You can't tell, but the bushes in front are loaded with lights. Luke designed the railing and even added extra lights.

The Christmas spirit was alive and well at our house today!

Here's the living room (and Buddy), after:

T

The tree is on a table because I was afraid that crazy Buddy would get curious and that would mean that I'd have to kill him. Better to be safe than sorry.

Here's the tree all lit up.

I do so love Christmas.

Now, I can't wait until Santa puts all my presents under the tree. Would someone please tell CB and Luke?

December 10, 2011 Seriously. W. T. F?

Have you ever in your entire life seen a dog this frickin' big? Look closely, he is standing on the seat and his head is sticking out of the sun roof.

Oh, and he's barking. Very, very loud.

A poor woman was walking along, minding her own business, when this dog stuck his head out of the sun roof and started barking. The woman screamed, peed her pants and started to run. All at the same time.

It was a bit entertaining, I must admit.

The dog's owner left the dog in the vehicle.

Do you suppose he locked the doors? It's not like someone would try to steal it.

I wonder if the dog came with a saddle.

December 9, 2011 Backyard View

This doesn't look much like Christmas I know, but this is what I see from my kitchen window and it makes me smile.

It seems as though we live in the country and not in the thriving metropolis of Wamego. The green space behind our house is a Frisbee golf course that will always be a park. And, it's the best kept secret in Wamego. Please don't tell anyone, okay?

Isn't it crazy that there is one lone tree which is still full of leaves? That one tree will not surrender to winter. It knows Fall is the best season and it will do everything in its power to keep Fall alive!

This scene makes me smile regardless of the season.

What more could I ask for?

Ummmm, someone to do the dishes so I don't have to look out the window at all?

Perhaps.

December 8, 2011 Good Idea

I saw this jar of animal crackers in a local restaurant. What a great idea, when hungry kids are doing what hungry kids do, a parent can grab a pouch of animal crackers and bribe them into behaving.

I've decided that I am going to try this in my office.

When the whining and blaming starts, I'm going to reach for some kind of treat.

Eat it.

And try to stop whining and blaming.

I'll let you know how it goes.

December 7, 2011 Colorado Wildcat

The things you see while walking through the parking garage looking for your car. (Yes, I misplaced my car again. Only this time, I had MY car which doesn't have remote anything so I couldn't pop the trunk and follow the light.)

I love this sticker and have never seen one like it!

Is this a person who is from Colorado but attending Kansas State?

Or a Kansas person who longs to be from Colorado?

Or someone who prefers that Powercats have a giant red "C" on them ? What would the "C" stand for anyway? Curious? Clever? Cute? Crazy? Convicted?

December 6, 2011 The Promise of a New Year

What is more glorious than a new calendar? Nothing, that's what.

I love all the blank pages, full of potential and hope. One of my favorite things is to look back at old calendars. I still have one from my last year of law school which I wander through every now and then. On it I kept track of day care expenses (I was so poor that the United Way nearly paid me to take Luke to day care!) and the work schedules for my 2 jobs, among other tidbits of information. Sometimes I think I can actually remember the events I wrote on that calendar from 1985!

Every day is just like this calendar - - blank and waiting for me to write on it, to make it my own.

At the end of the day, can I look at what I've written and be satisfied? Proud? Glad I spent a day of my life on what I've done? Tough questions. Questions that I, frankly, don't ask myself enough.

Maybe next year. Maybe next year I'll make the most of each day so that by the end of the year, my calendar will truly be something to look back on and be proud.

But then again. Maybe it will be full of all the bullshit that life seems to throw my way.

Either way, it will won't be blank any more!

December 5, 2011 I Know There's an Explanation

This greeted me today as I was riding the elevator in the parking garage.

Isn't it crazy the things you notice if you just pay attention? It helps if you expect the unexpected.

I for one, love balloons. Back in the day when I had to keep large groups of kids entertained, I could do just that with a balloon (and it had nothing to do with anyone being naked.). Seriously, there are a million games you can play with a balloon.

I wonder if my attraction to these balloons is that black and gold are the colors of my alma mater, Fort Hays State University? I doubt it.

But I do wonder if these balloons were released on purpose or somehow escaped? If they were released, then the people who released them were idiots since there are many, many places close to the Union which aren't thick with balloon eating trees. Wouldn't that have been something to see - this chain of black and gold balloons rising higher and higher?

Much better than watching a chain of balloons rising and BOOM getting caught in the trees that are right there.

Do you think anyone but me gave a second thought to these balloons? What does that say about all the people who didn't notice?

On the other hand, what does that say about me?

December 4, 2011 FAIL

The sun rose bright and shining this morning. The skies were blue and it looked like the thermometer might hit 40 degrees. Golf was on the horizon!

Before he left, CB got a roast ready to put in the oven. He cooks a mean pot roast.

My instructions were clear: at 2:30 put water in the roaster pan and put it in the oven.

I took care of that and thought I'd get some Rhodes frozen rolls out and let them rise all afternoon. Good plan, if I do say so myself.

Except, that I didn't get the rolls out. I got back into a wonderful book I'm reading and completely forgot about the rolls.

However, I still wanted the rolls so, with only 2 hours left before supper, I thought I'd "hurry" the rising process along. That shouldn't be too hard, should it? Well, should it?

Yes. It. Should.

If you want to hurry the rolls along, follow the directions on the package, do not try to do it yourself by putting the pan on the burner of the stove which also acts as the oven vent. What you will end up with are these breadish type hockey puck shaped things.

Oh, the answer is no, I did not bake them anyway. Even though CB said he was sure they'd be fine.

And, by "fine", he meant "they won't kill me, at least."

I wasn't so sure, so I threw them away. If Buddy gets to them, we may find one more thing he's allergic to.

December 3, 2011 Rain, Rain Go Away

No, this picture has nothing to do with the fact that it rained all day long. All day. It rained. Rain means that CB couldn't golf and would be underfoot all day. And by "underfoot" I mean "in the basement watching football".

I had hopes of getting the house decorated for Christmas.

Then CB and I decided to run to Manhattan to get a couple of things we needed at Kmart and Dillon's. CB actually suggested we go to Wal-Mart, and, once the lecture about how Wal-Mart is the work of rich repuglicans and Satan, he was sorry he mentioned it.

Had a great time together and when we got home, he went one direction (to the basement) and I went the other direction (upstairs) and that was that.

Now about this picture. Our silly dog, Buddy, is allergic to everything in the world. We just found out about this and we've started giving him shots every 3 days. Oh, and by "we", I mean "me". Luke holds him, I shoot him up and CB winches.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am NOT the person you want in a medical situation, emergency or otherwise. But, if the patient is a dog, I do okay.

Some of the items on Buddy's list of things he's allergic to: dandelions, rye grass, a bunch of things I can't pronounce, fleas and, are you ready, DUST.

I had a choice between cleaning my house more often (like sweeping and dusting everyday) or giving Buddy shots.

Sorry, Buddy.