Where did the Weekend Go?

I guess that's a great question that needs some history! Doesn't it always though....

Monday after bowling practice I was told in an off handed way that there was to be a bowling fundraiser on Sunday. Ok, I didn't think anything more of it as I figured I would be told more details over the week. What I didn't count on was what the week was to hold.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Grim and I had deposition prep, we did that for almost 8 hours. Then Thursday Grim was to give his deposition but it was tossed on me to give mine as well. Once we get home, the monsters are already at the bowling alley practicing. We get there and I am almost immediately hit with this fundraiser by one of the other mom's......

Do you want to do this, that and another thing.... The mom was like I have been asking questions but I get no answers.... So I make the split second decision to go talk to the coach and ask if he wants a bowling booster? He of course says yes as he has been trying to do all this on his own.... Because all he gets is questions and little to no help. So I tell him not to worry I will take care of everything.

In the morning I talk to the athletic director and get the details to the booster.... It had been set up but no one had wanted to run it?!? At least until I came along. So then, we had a competition on Friday night. I bought 50/50 tickets.... Just as they are about to draw the number I say out loud that if I win I will buy material to make the frayed fleece scarves in the school colors. Yep, guess who won! After the competition I ended up at Joann Fabrics to get the material. I bought 6 yards of two colors and ended up getting 11 scarves... ( I think next time I will measure differently to get more out of the material.)

These aren't our colors but I found the picture and the directions for them here at Make & Takes

Saturday, Picky monster and I get up early, dress nicely and hit the streets looking for donations so that we can host a raffle. The business's that we went to were all so very generous. I was astounded by it. Unfortunately, I only had about 2 hours to do this.... But I was able to get over $200 worth of donations.

For the bake sale I made Easy Lemon Bars here at Just Being Me

We had a ton of baked goods brought in by the moms and donations for the raffles also!

With the bowling, raffles, bake sale, scarves and 50/50 we are off to a really good start to being able to pay for everything we need this year!

In 3 days I pulled a fundraiser out of thin air. I am so proud of myself.... the old me would never have attempted anything like this. I guess 2013 is my year after all!

Yart

Crazy Days

Didn't go to the gym today, as Mondays are my late day. All the kids start later on Mondays... It is suppose to be better for the teachers... I think that they should get out early on Friday... But that's my opinion!

Grim is on his first day back to work... Thank the Gods!!! Now our life will get moving again. This holding pattern we have been on this past year has been fine, but it got old pretty quick. He will be getting his new Harley next month. The Credit Union said the loan is his.... They just need a paystub. Not a problem.... So he is very happy!

Since I signed the 4 of us up to do the 5k before he was back to work, I don't know if he will be there or not. So I got my mom to fill in... Then if he is home I will just pay for here to go also. It will be fun as this will be her first 5k... The monsters are already planning on running most of it. I will just walk really fast... LOL!

Picky monsters team did a roll off and lost. But I told her that they made it to that point and they should be very proud of themselves. Of course being 13, she took it to heart. When asked if she wanted to do summer bowling she said yes, that she needs to get better. So at least there's that.

The monsters and I got out in the yard yesterday and started cleaning it up. Today, I moved all the jars of dehydrated and jars of beans and the like on to the new shelves. I am sorely lacking in the organization department in the pantry. That is why it was essential to move this stuff. The pantry will still hold the home canned food. What a job... LOL! I need to empty out jars... Every year I go through and toss out any thing that has hit the 2 year mark. Can't wait for pigs... then I would just slop it out to them.

Speaking of pigs... I am still reading Farm City by Novella Carpenter. This book is for anyone with a slighty off view. I mean really she kept 2 duran pigs in her back yard. If there isn't something just a little odd about that in todays times I don't know what is. Now it all works out for the best. But she lets the reader know that this was not at all easy and shouldn't be for the faint of heart. One thing that I was very ignorant of was that most major cities at one time not only allowed pigs but had great interest in them. There were clubs all about pigs.... Who knew. See people kept pigs to clean up the garbage, since they are omnivores they eat pretty much anything. We no longer have city pigs because we have trash collection!

I wonder if the economy keeps going on the downward, will cities let us have pigs and chickens and ??? oh my! Will the government not only push us to have victory gardens but help us along the path... Hmmmmm! Will we once again be allowed to feed ourselves or are we going to be forced to eat garbage.... Hey, I guess there still are city pigs... Yep, I went there!

Gotta Run,
Yart

Happy Holidays!!

School is officially over until next year! Saturday morning we went on to the Bowling Christmas parties.... All the monsters had a ton of fun!! There was comic bowl, pizza, cupcakes, gifts and a ton more food that folks brought. We ended up there for a couple of hours. We were suppose to go to a texas hold em party. But the people we were going with couldn't go because thier monster got sick. So instead we stayed home and I baked. I made sugar cookie dough for the monsters. Then I made spiced ginger cookies (new to us recipe) and almond thimble cookies. The spiced ginger I need to make more of, I only got 2 1/2 dozen and they were a huge hit. So these are going to be added to the yearly must make list. Then once the baking was done it was time to teach the older two how to play rummy. The littlest monster was spending the night with my mom. They had a good time..... I think they got it?!? But you never know.

Sunday, I got up and made a toll house dough, left out the nuts and chocolate chips, but added M&M's. It was a double batch, I got 7 dozen. I know it seems like a lot but most of the cookies will be going into gift packs. Then my mom came over and rolled out the dough for the monsters (I'm not a pastry chef, I don't roll).... The monsters had a blast cutting out the shapes and decorating the cookies. I wasn't really happy with this sugar cookie recipe. So I will have to find a different one for next time. We had a simple dinner, mac and cheese and smoked sausage. Then we watched the Muppets Christmas Carol. Mouthy monster ended up in bed early, poor thing has a cold.

This morning we were back at therapy, only two days this week! Then went to the health food store, needed some vitamins. Back home to get the dog. Off to the vet we went..... He has another ear infection and his eyes are both yucky this time.... His nails got trimmed, we were there for over two hours and I spent almost $300...... Seriously, Teenage monster had better get to being a great vet soon..... These animals are going to put me in the poor house. He is already feeling better and that is all that matters. Poor baby! And I have to work bingo tonight.... Last one for this year!

Everyone but me has a dentist appointment wednesday. The monsters to get cleanings and Grim to get a filling! Then we will be done with the dentist for this year.... Maybe, I can hope. The monsters might have a cavaty or two that need to be filled. If so maybe they can get it done before next year. Then after we get home, I need to make mini loaves of zucchini and cherry nut breads, and buckeyes. Once that is done I am done with the holiday baking.

Out of what I wanted to get done 10 types of cookies and 5 candies. I will have made 8 cookies, 2 candies and 3 types of bread. Not to bad for an over stressed mom of three.... LOL! Things always just seem to have a way of working themselves out don't they. All I have left to do is wrap a few little things and get the gift bags together. Cook the meal on the day and a bit of prep work and we will be good to go.

Gotta Run,

Yart

Isn't it suppose to slow down?

I mean really. The snow is falling, but not sticking. The garden has been put to bed and the house is decorated. Everything should be quieting down now. But noooooo. That's not the case. We have been running around like crazy. Doing what I'm still not sure. Are you ever so busy that you really don't seem to accomplish anything but stuff gets done? Yep, that's where I'm at right now.

Here are two flour sack towels. I iron transferred the image on to them. I have one finished and the other one is almost done. No pictures yet.

 I have 6 of these skeleton aprons to sew up. I bought the material months ago and never got around to doing the work.

 I did finally get the turkey stock canned up. I only ended up with 2 quarts but I also got 4 jars of sterile water also. I can't remember where I saw to do this. So if it was you, thank you for the tip! But it helps to add the jars with water so that nothing bounces around and breaks.

 We took the monsters to the living history museum this weekend. It was a blast. They had people in costume, like below. There were stands that you could purchase things like, roast beef sandwiches off a spitted roast, roasted chestnuts hot off the fire, spiked hot cocoa (peppermint schnapps), spiked hot cider (dark rum) and non spiked for the teetotalers. I had to drive so no spirits for me.... :( Maybe next year.

It started to snow while we were there. It added a magical touch to the evening.

 And even though there were no spirits for me there were fires everywhere to warm ourselves by.

 A good time was had by all. They are already asking if we can go back next year! I think that this will become one of our holiday traditions from this point on. Next weekend we are going to see the Christmas lights at the zoo. It is a wonderful display!

I have to work bingo tonight. But tomorrow night we will be getting started on the cookies and candy. Unfortunately, we won't be done in one night but it shouldn't take long. Plus, I need to get all the holiday bread made. I think that will have to wait until the weekend. Maybe Saturday after the Bowling Christmas party.

Speaking of bowling. Picky monster got a high enough score in the in house tournament that she gets to go on to the city tournament in May. And we questioned about why she hasn't received any patches yet. The lady came over with a printout and we found that her computer program had a glitch. Picky will be getting at least 2 patches for her shirt. I am so happy.... She was getting very discouraged. But it's all better now!!

Gotta Run,

Yart

Never a boring day

Well, today was band monsters last day of pre-camp. She will be leaving on Sunday for a week at band camp. I have anxiety more then she does, I'm just better at hiding it. I still need to go and get her muchies, water and bug spray. We have everything else! After she is done with camp this year she will only have 2 more to go to before she graduates. Where has the time gone. Just yesterday she was a baby. Oh, well I digress!

Yesterday the little monsters had their last day of summer bowling. They both had a great time doing it this summer. The last day consisted of cosmic bowling and awards. Both of them got one! Woo Hoo! They are so competitive with each other. I went ahead and got them registered for fall. Then I took the plunge and signed up for a fun league on Tuesday mornings. I think that it will be a lot of fun. Plus, I got the schedule for the adult night classes that are being offered. I am going to be taking a sewing class. I really need to learn what I am suppose to be doing. LOL!

As I said in the last post I got a bushel of tomatoes in a moment of weakness. But when all was said and done I got 5 pints if BBQ sauce and 13 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Just got 9 quarts done tonight. I'm very happy with the amount that I got. Depending on what comes up I should only need one more bushel. I am going to see how the garden does before I go and buy any more. I still need to get 11 more quarts of spaghetti sauce. That is only 2 jars a month so it really isn't a lot for my family. I just hope that we don't want pasta more then that. Plus, I still want to make ketchup. Grim says that we are getting it for a good price at the store. I want to make it to see how it turns out. Does that sound weird? Anyways, what's a girl to do! The rest of the garden isn't doing so good, The heat has just been terrible and the plants are suffering for it. I really need to get out there and do some major cleaning. I just have been so damn busy. 

Still haven't got the living room cleaned up yet. It may stay that way until I have to clean for Thanksgiving! LOL! I have a reason other then all the canning and running around. I have been reading "Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen. Oh, my is it a good book. It was a fast read and very funny. There are a few parts that had me guessing. I now am going to try and get everthing else she has written. I love her writting style. It really pulled me in.

At least all the dishes are done and the sink was scrubbed with steel wool to make it shine. Thats gotta count for something.

Gotta Run,

Yart

It's almost a new week!?!

How is that possible? Where did this week go! I demand to know... LOL! We managed to get through the first week of pre-camp. She has 3 days of pre-camp this coming week and then off to band camp the following week. The the week after she comes home, the band will be preforming at on of the major state universities first football game. Band monsters' band was chosen to attend this event. Very kewl! Like I have said before from the begining of August to November we have no life other then band. It is very time consuming.

Grim has 6 more weeks off work, per the doctor. But he will be starting PT on Tuesday. This is a great thing, it means that he is getting better and one day may go back to work. For those of you who may not know Grim was involved in a motorcycle accident on March 31 of this year. Luckily, he was not seriously damaged. The accident has held him out of work because of his shoulder though. So we are going on 5 months of him being home. I am just thankful that he is alive. Because there was a huge possiblity that he could have been killed.

I was able to get the strawberries made into ?. It didn't jell right. Everytime I try to make strawberry jelly it doesn't jell. So we have another syrup. 10 half pints to be exact. It will be good on toast anyways. LOL! I also made up bbq sauce. To me it seemed like a lot of work for so little to show for it. I worked on it for almost 5 hours and only got 3 pints. But it tasted and smelled great, so I will be making it again. My tomatoes are coming in slow but sure. I don't think that I will get enough out of the garden to make everything that I want to make. There is a U-Pick farm that I can go and tomatoes at. Plus it is great fun to get the monsters out there to show them what it is like to be on a real farm doing real work. Next week I should be up to my shoulders in tomato. I love canning.

My house still needs to be cleaned. I have been working on it little by little but there seems to be more important things to do. Went and hung out the other night with friends at our local hang out. Took the kids to bowl.... It was cosmic bowling....Fun was had by all. Plus, it was only $1 per game per person. Cheap fun, does it get any better. Exercise, fun and real potties! (As any mom of kids that are involved in anything, you can relate to why I seem fixated on real potties *big smile*!) Yeah, bowling!!! Back to the cleaning... I feel that if the living room is trashed then my life is chaotic and I don't like that. And guess what room is trashed?!? Any guesses...LOL!

So today if the world doesn't stop rotating then I will be cleaning the living room and making watermelon jelly. But then again I feel the gravitational pull changing, so you never know!

Gotta Run,

Yart