Snapshots from Home

These are in no order what-so-ever. I'm fighting with the uploader to try and find the pictures I really want to post!



eta: Emily decided she didn't want her regular stocking this year- she wanted the one that had been hung for Michelle and Chad. Santa granted her wish...

These are a couple of the projects I was working on. They were really easy. I got the patterns for the clothes from Aaron's mother, and found the purses on-line. I didn't like the purses until I finished.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed holiday!

A Different Kind of Christmas Poem

I'm not sure who this is by, it was forwarded to me and I wanted to share:

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,


I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
So that your family can sleep without fright.
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers"

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us"

This and That

I talk about work too much, but I was filling out my time sheet for this pay period which ends on Friday, and I realized that if I work the hours that I am scheduled to work this week, I will have over 100 hours on the paycheck.

Which makes for a nice check but a tired girl.

And it's likely that I will have that many hours. With all the changes lately, things have been crazy. When I finally have a day off (thursday, canNOT wait), I'll have done 14 days in a row.

Can you blame me for talking about work?

I'm waiting for my camera to come in. I wasn't going to buy it until after Christmas, but I was asked to take candid photos for a wedding and I knew that I couldn't do that with my current camera. So it gave me the push I've needed (been waiting for) to go ahead and order it.

The e-mail arrived today with the tracking number. I'm hoping it arrives in time for my day off.

Keep your fingers crossed.

59.4

Inches of snow this year, already...

It's a good thing that I picked up my season pass for the ski hill yesterday. Have to love the one day sale for that. I'm getting excited to go.

Although with the way work is these days- not looking too likely any time soon. But the hill isn't open yet either.

I went and purchased this the other day. Now I'm just waiting for it to come in.

And it's off to work for the day- Day launch, as they are calling it. The first day selling as our new brand name.

Christmas on My Mind

I was thinking about traditions. My absolute favorite part of the holiday season is Christmas Eve. The way we spend the evening is so special. I always know that on that night it is all about family.

We do pretty much the same thing every year- for waiting anxiously for dinner all day- to gathering around the tree after the jobs are done. It's a fun night, full of secrets, magic, love, and family.

So I am wondering, what are your favorite traditions?

SNOW!!!

I should have taken a picture this morning. My car was buried... Not exaggerating a bit. It's been snowing for the past few days but we definitely got dumped on last night. To the point where my car door was pushing snow out of the way when I opened it.

I love it. I love the first few months of snow. And then it gets old, and I'll be ready to move on. But for now, I love it. The only problem with this much snow is that my boots are at my parents. Along with the winter jackets that I own...

Deck the Halls

Happy Holidays!

I love this time of year. It's so much fun to decorate, bake, buy presents and prepare to celebrate Christmas Day! The best part of the season is the magic that is in the air. I love Christmas secrets and planning, and surprises...

We exchanged names this past week. I wonder if the younger kids have figured out who everyone has yet. They definitely like to try!

It was a lot of fun to go to Kelli and Bryan's for Thanksgiving. Ate too much, and it was too short of a trip but that's how most things are.

The little girls decided to learn how to crochet, and play 14 high. So now down to Em (all of 6 years old) we all know what Trump is.

I'm disappointed in myself because I didn't take out my camera. But I did get some work done on a blanket I have been crocheting for a couple years. Slowly crocheting, with many long stretches of time between working on it.

And I didn't get up on Friday morning to go shopping. I had to work, and just didn't bother. I did go Friday night and picked up a few things. Now my goal is to have everything done before Christmas Eve.

Happy Thanksgiving!

After work tomorrow, I'm taking off for the holiday. The family is going to spend it at Kelli and Bryan's.

I only have Wednesday and Thursday off, but I'm not going to complain. Because I would rather only have a couple days off than work the days around Christmas.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

I'm off

For the eleventh day of work in a row... Can't wait for the day to be over and I finally get a break!

We received the official news last night that the transaction went through and our company is now operating under another name.

Maybe we'll finally have answers as to what is going to happen.

And it's for that reason that I don't mind going into work today.

A Hunting We Will Go...

My db, Aaron, decided to try his hand at bow hunting this year. So he went out two weekends to the camp with the boys... And lo and behold, on his second try he shot a doe... It was a bad shot, he tells me, but a shot nonetheless. One that wounded the deer enough that I have to learn how to cook venison.

Any ideas?

I'm not opposed to the idea of cooking venison. Just a little nervous. I remember having it at friends houses when I was younger and I remember liking it. I haven't had it in years though- my father and my brothers are not hunters. We'll see how that goes.

Visitors

Now that I put the city counter on my blog I find myself watching it... And trying to figure out who may be reading from each city. Interesting.

I want to go to some of the places that are listed. Right about now I'd like to be in a warm, sunshiney place.

Maybe.

And then again, where I am isn't so bad either. Sure it's cold, but it's that time of year. I'm not sure I could live for very long in a place that doesn't have a change of seasons like we do here. I love every season when it first starts. And it's not that cold yet.

Winter will be long, it always is... But I have my ski's, I'll get my ski pass and then we'll be good to go!

As my family knows, when I was a senior and trying to decide where to go to college I always said I would never move here. No way. I hated this area. And then, at the end of January a friend passed away in a car accident. When I came up for the funeral, something changed. I went back home and told my mom that I wanted to go to school up here.

Spent a summer in Alaska (stories for another time), moved when I came back, and really haven't left. Funny how things change.

Quotable

Sharyn was talking about quotes on her blog... It got me to thinking. When I was in middle and high school I had a thing about quotes. Every time I heard one that I liked, I would write it down. I have a small book of quotes now. Some of my favorites:

Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier- Unknown

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump. You sit still and trust the engineer.- Corrie Ten Boom (A good one to remember when things get tough).

A good time for laughing is when you can. - Jessamyn West

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. -Antoine de Saint-Exupery


I could go on and on but I'll leave you with this last thought which I believe comes from an old Irish blessing:

May the light always find you on a dreary day;
When you need to be home, may you find a way;
May you always have courage to take a chance,
And never find frogs in your underpants

Pictures from the Shower

Eta: All of these were taken with my digital camera, hence the red-eye. I should have played to take that out but being lazy, I didn't... I just need a new digital camera.

Emily and Jean- they were looking at all the gifts, it was rather cute.

The oldest and the three youngest

All the sisters with mom

These two really look alike.

Janelle- will you put the pictures from Memorial Day weekend on Ringo? I meant to put them on a CD when I was home, but I forgot. I appreciate it! Thank you!

It's Snowing...

But I'm always excited for the first snowfall of the year.

Fall

Last fall I was in South Carolina. This was taken at a little place called Twin Lakes.

Choices

Here is a story that was forwarded to me:

What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice? At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: "When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do.He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?"The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."

Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?" Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning." Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life,moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head,out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!" Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath,Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, "Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay"

Shay reached third base because the opposing short stop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third! Shay, run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators,were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!" Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. "That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,"the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world". Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the"natural order of things." So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

Falls

This was taken in the spring. Have I mentioned that I love water?

I could probably fill a book or two with all of the pictures I have taken of different bodies of water...

Vision

I went for an eye exam yesterday. It's been two years since my last one. The good news was that my prescription has stayed the same.

Even so, I hate eye appointments. You sit in that chair and the doctor makes you tell her if you can see the letters on the wall. Well... no... that's why I'm here.
Can you see that now? Umm... no.
Now? No...
If I try this? No.

And by the end of the appointment I feel like I'm on the verge of going blind. Now that's a great feeling.

I Want

THIS. I've been drooling over it. I'm going to have to save my cash for it. My heart beats faster when I search it...

Seeing things?

I have been reading Cami's blog and her posts about ghosts... I have a story.

I was home alone in a house where the bathroom water used to randomly turn on by itself...

It happened to be Halloween. Maybe my mind was a little more open to the possibility of spirits. I don't know.

I was in the kitchen, unpacking groceries, when I looked up. There in the hallway was a little boy watching me. He was short, maybe 9-10 years old, and was wearing a blue and white stripped polo.

I jumped. Blinked, and looked again. He was gone.

Ghost? Or an overactive imagination? You decide.

A trip down memory lane...

I'm cleaning out my inbox and I found this...
A few memories from the house that made me smile to read so I thought I would share- Karen, this post is for you!

*Our rock theory-We all have five rocks. And they represent family, friends, work, school, and romantic love. But... At the bottom of this pyramid of rocks is a huge diamond. This diamond represents our faith. It holds the other rocks up and binds them together. Without this diamond, it all will crumble.

*Our first Thursday night. We didn't know what we started! It was an ice cream social and there were so many people!
*When we were at Econo and somehow agreed to have kyds...
*Our potluck! What a fun time.
*The night the power went out- staying up until four hoping we wouldn't have school, of course the power did come on then...
*Our list of names on the wall, I didn't know we knew that many people.
*Coming home from kyds and making quesadillas
*Cleaning the house and getting high off the bleach and oven-cleaner fumes. Then going to Mancino's and not being able to find your car.
*Judy! (Enough said... I've run into her several times... She doesn't remember me)
*Doing the neighbors' dishes because Gary put locks on our doors. Plus, we couldn't stay in the house while our attic was being mutilated.
*Having our attic redecorated for us
*Hanging out in the upstairs hallway before we had the downstairs clean. It was completely natural to get dinner and eat in sitting on the desk.
*Making lists of everyone who came over for our Thursday nights
*Giving up on getting the table clean and just buying a tablecloth.
*Having fun, staying up late and talking about anything...
*Our white trash couch!!
*Going out onto the porch "through" the door
*the night Megan and Aaron got engaged, we went to Perkins in our pajamas
*at Perkins - sharing a cheese quesadilla, then ordering and sharing another one
*the first time we shoveled snow we had so much fun.
*the leaning chimney in the attic
*sitting and talking in the red room
*we burned the cider so badly it turned into molasses
*We had some good dinners in the spring with the three of us.
*Cleaning the blinds outside with the hose... got a little wet. Then we found that bottle of the cleaning stuff/bleach that we used in the spring before we moved out.
*finding out that the neighbors could hear every word we said when we were in the dining room talking- whoops
*moving out. What a day. And all those guys at the neighbors' -- just watched us. Hours later one of them came home and immediately asked if we wanted help.
*dumping my water bed out the window, making mud, then watching the Tech Senior Walkers walk through it
*Finding out why my dishes started disappearing
*When I met Kelly A. and you at Wal-Mart because I had a bad feeling about the house and really couldn't bring myself to go in.
*I remember the feeling the first month we lived there. Life was reallygreat!
*Having Steve go through the house when we were too scared to go in...
*Making dinner for the neighbors, they were so polite, taking off their hats and all!
*Getting used to the neighbors drums
*"Hello neighbor!" (And for awhile "Hello, old neighbor!")
*Cleaning the house for hours
*Hearing voices that first day, but there was no one around, and then hearing dishes in the sink even though there weren't any
*Seeing ghosts
*Going to garage sales... But we couldn't find any...
*Writing on the walls, all of our random inside jokes...
*Going to Tech basketball games, I never thought I would be such a big fan!
*Our 4 hours talk on your bed with the doors closed one Saturday afternoon in the fall
*The Ouija Board Night -- Rita Aho died in 1964 in the attic, that was the first night the water turned on in the bathroom
*Walking to Perkins in the rain, through and back out of the construction zone, getting lost
*Your song in the fall. You always had to lay down when you heard it
*7 girls in the living room with our journals, making lists and predictions and such
*Sliding down the hallway floor
*SPAGHETTI
*Missing out on kyds at Narhi's because you, Kara, and I got distracted... *Bringing Tin Roof Sundae ice cream to the neighbors'
*Out on the front porch yelling ("Cheering for cars")
*The Winter Carnival All-Nighter at our house. Kara and I wrote all over my walls that night.
*Hungarian Falls - you, Kara, and me ~ taking pictures and everything, then we ate "dinner" together for the first time ever
*Hanging out on the steps when Henrik was writing down the Wall of Fame or whatever
*Going down the basement the first month we lived there we always had to have someone with us, or announce to the house that we were going down there, or at the very least, take the phone with us...

Sigh... Great memories... I'm sure there are many more but these made me smile and laugh a little...

Music...

Finally, finally have my car back. It is so nice!

I was thinking today about songs and the memories that go with them... It very rarely happens that a song will come on the radio that doesn't have some type of memory to go with it.

Someone once asked me what is the one thing I will always do when I have to figure out a problem. There are actually two things I do. One, I will take a drive to the water. Looking at waves, hearing the crash on a shoreline never fails to calm me down. There is something about the repetitiveness (is that a word?) that is very calming.

And after that I listen to music. There are certain songs that I listen to depending on my mood or what is going through my head. I am a music person. I could not live without it. I love hearing a new song and knowing that it is going to be a good one. I will buy a CD and listen to it repeatedly. As in constantly, for weeks on end, until I know every word.
I have CD's to listen to when I'm upset, when I'm mad, when I'm feeling down, when I'm happy...

"After silence that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music"

Nope, could not live without music.

Intuition...

A sixth sense, gut feeling... What ever you call it, I firmly believe that you should listen to it. Even so, I don't always remember to.

Take today for example, I was proud of myself... Cleaned my small apartment, scrubbed floors and all. Then I went to do my laundry. While the washer was going I ran to Wal-Mart and picked up some things. I was on a roll with my errands.

At the right time, I went back to the laundry mat to switch my clothes. I jumped out of the truck, thought why am I taking my purse? So I grabbed my keys, locked the doors and went inside. After switching loads I grabbed those same keys and realized that they were my house keys.

I've never done that before. Never. Not when my car wasn't parked in the driveway and I had spare keys in the house.

I had a moment of panic, my purse, my phone, my money etc, all in the truck. I was standing there, muttering some choice words at myself when I realized, I have AAA. I called, they came and it was all happy.

If only I had realized that I was grabbing my purse for a reason. That maybe I was telling myself to double check which keys I had. I did it every other time I left the vehicle today. And I'm not normally paranoid.

Too many times I have done that- not listened to what my gut was telling me and then later wondered why. I need to start doing that!

Back Again

This weekend at home was really nice. The trip was way too short, but oh well. I know I'm getting older because I used to be able to do the leave after work Friday and come home Sunday after church without a problem, but not so much anymore. I get really bored riding in a car like that. And tired. It's just not as fun as it used to be.

Anyway, it was good to see the family. We didn't get in until about 2 am Saturday morning. I went for breakfast with my old swim coach and some of the team. It was really interesting to learn about what people are up to now. I swam with most of the girls that were there for nine years. It was a big chunk of my life.

Afterwards, Annette, Cari, Janelle and I went shopping. It was hot. Probably reached about 90. The air at my parents isn't working. It's funny how you get used to having ac. We didn't have it when I was younger and I don't remember being bothered by that. Sure, there were nights when it was really warm, but we just used fans. It makes quite a difference being used to ac there.

Church on Sunday was packed. I don't know if it's just because I haven't been to church there in a few months, but I was shocked at the amount of people. There wasn't an empty spot either upstairs or down. They really need a new building- and a bigger parking lot. It was really nice to be home for communion. I know that communion doesn't change depending on the church you are in, but there is something so special about being able to be with your family. To bless each other afterwards. I really miss that, living up here.

We left after lunch. And after trying to take a family picture. Emily was crying. There's always a crier.

I arrived around mid-night. And had a 3-hour work day that I really wasn't looking forward to.

And my car, wasn't fixed before I left. Should be done tomorrow. Aaron was nice enough to let me take his truck... Hopefully my car is really fixed this time.

Weekend Plans

Thanks for the support on my car. It's nice to know that everyone was laughing along with me on that one! Although, at the time, I was just praying that neither the car behind me, nor the one in front knew who I was...

If all goes well, I'll pick it up tomorrow and be on my way to see my family. I'm a little nervous since the other times I picked it up it wasn't all well.

We'll see. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family again so I will be very disappointed if I can't go.

Hopefully you won't hear from me until I get back!

And so it goes...

My car is now worse than before. So back to the shop it goes... I'm getting a little tired of not having a car.

I was pretty embarrassed on my way to work this morning. The problem- if you remember was that my car idles really high. Well, new problem is that unless I literally have the brake to the floor my car will not come to a complete stop. So I was going to work, and came to the "Yooper Loop" where I had to wait in the line of traffic to stop. With all the construction on the bridge and only one lane open, the line was long. Well, I'm sitting in my car, coming to a stop when my car started jumping. As in lurching forward every few seconds. Have you ever seen young kids make their cars rock? That's what my car decided to do. So I rocked my way through that intersection.

It goes back to the shop tomorrow morning. Sigh.

This and That

Gramma had us up for dinner this week. That was nice. Great Aunt Eva stopped by... I don't know Eva all that well, but it sure was fun to listen to some of her stories. She made a comment regarding the recent chemo she has been going through, and it stuck with me.

She was talking about how some days are hard and the somewhat direct quote was "Life's a battle. Everyday you wake up and you have to smile- smile until you make it."

Brian and Jean were there also. I think I've seen more of my aunts and uncles from MN this year then in the past few combined. I've said it before, but it really is nice to get to know them as an *adult*.

I fell asleep one night recently stressing about my numbers at work. The thing is, I really like my job. I'm just afraid that it's going to get slow, I won't make my numbers and then I won't have a choice but to find a new job. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm thinking ahead. Glass half-empty kind of thinking.

Anyway, I was trying to decide what I would want to do if I didn't do what I do. (Haha). So I started thinking about the jobs I have held and enjoyed, along with the pastimes I enjoy.

In a perfect world, I would love to take candid shots for money. Go to birthday parties, weddings, graduations, etc and take those pictures that capture the little moments. That's something that I enjoy trying to do- capture the pictures that show emotion. I wouldn't want to do formal posed shots, but I'd love to do the behind the scenes deal. Of course, I'd have to take a photography class or two. And compete with the many other photographers up here. But I would enjoy it.

For now, I like my job and I made it through another month.

An Update

On my car. It will be fixed on Thursday. Turns out it was the throttle position sensor, not the mass air flow one... No word on the price yet. So I'm crossing my fingers!

A Picture

For Sharyn... I was inspired by this page. She took the sketch from Valerie.



The flash wasn't working with me today. So that's the best shot I have!

And as a side note- the ribbon on the page? I cut the hanger straps out of a new sweater I bought... Worked perfectly.

Like Grandma...

I hate doing dishes. I wonder if I get this from my mom's mother? Is it possible that something like that could be passed down? I just remember being at Grandpa and Grandma's and hearing her talk about not liking to do dishes.

This is going through my head as I read blogs instead of doing my dishes... I usually try to tell myself that I can come to the computer after emptying out the sink. That's not working tonight. Although, if I had a dishwasher, it wouldn't be such a chore. Someday.

We fixed it!

Oh... Maybe not... Yep, that's how it went today. Aaron (once again, being the wonderful bf he is) brought my car to have that sensor replaced. So the mechanics took out the old one, put in the new. And... didn't fix the problem. Back in went the old part and we are at square one again. I just want my car back.

For those who are interested. Megan (Kristin and EJ's) and Aaron (Janet and Pete's) had a baby boy on Tueday. Travis Joseph. All went well and baby and mother are back home today!

Bad news, good news

My wonderful boyfriend lent me his truck and took my car to the shop today. So, the problem is a tiny little sensor... As in the mass air flow sensor needs to be replaced. Not a huge deal.

Or so I thought. Then, I was informed that because my car is foreign, that itty bitty part could cost me $500. Wow. Luckily, Aaron knows a thing or two about dealing with car mechanics. So they found me a used one that will work. And that will cut the cost way down.

Who knew foreign car parts were so expensive?

Picture Share

I picked up more of my pictures that I had developed....

An old church on the Island

My Man

A side of a bridge that you don't normally see

Love this picture

He was so excited to try fly fishing

I walked around and enjoyed the scenery

And one more of the Breakies from the other night.

Car troubles

Got off of work early today. We have had a few slow days... That doesn't look good for us. The month got off to a really good start. We were hoping that it would keep up. I'm not going to stress yet. Or I'm trying not to. Hopefully it picks up.

Construction started on the bridge. That'll make driving around here a little more interesting.

Speaking of driving- My car is rev-ing when I start it. Aaron's going to look at it tonight and if he can't fix it I will bring it in tomorrow. I hope that he can fix it. I hate car issues. Not to mention the fact that I have no idea about anything to do with cars. And everytime I have to bring mine somewhere I'm afraid I act like the typical girl mechanics seem to think we are. Sigh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Garbage Day

Today is my day off... And I'm getting things done. Laundry, grocery shopping etc. Finally picked up a new toilet seat so I won't fall off everytime I go to sit on the thing. You'd think it wouldn't have taken me so long to buy a new one. Except the only time I ever thought about needing one was when the seat was sliding off the toilet...

I've also been going through all of the old papers and things I have stockpiled around here. I'm really trying to get rid of those things that I "might need someday." Like the paper I wrote on the Mayans in 5th grade. Or that math test that I got an A on in 6th.

It feels good to fill my garbage bag.

I'm going to Gramma and Grampa's tonight. Gramma invited me for supper. Definitely looking forward to that. Maybe the waves will be big there also.

Yesterday

September 11th was yesterday (eta. two days ago, now that it's past mid-night!) and I have read quite a few nice posts about the date and remembering it. I wanted to write something, but the only thing that comes to mind is to just say Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who serves our country. Thank you to all of those who stand and fight so people have the freedom to complain about the war here. (Ironic, don't you think?) Thank you for having the courage to defend our country.

That said, the weather here was fitting for remembering 9-11-01.

Aaron and I went out to the breakies. I took some pictures with my digital. I'm not too happy with them. But I will post anyway!

Past Weekend

It was really nice to be able to go to the wedding this weekend. Kara came with me and we had an enjoyable conversation both ways. Sometimes the rides end up being one of the nicest parts, with being able to visit!

The wedding was beautiful. I didn't have my camera with me, so no pictures. But it was still fun to be there. I was able to visit with some of my Dad's family who I haven't seen in quite awhile. And in case I forget, they all said to say hello!

And the city girl that is in me was quite glad to have the chance to go shopping! I was able to check some things off my list that I have been needing for work. So, on top of it being a mini-vacation, it was also a productive trip.

Now I'll be staying around here for awhile. And that's okay too. I found a great deal online and purchased 6 alphabet stamp sets, a set of 30+ stickers, five different ink pads and another set of stickers all for $25... That came in today, so I am looking forward to playing! As I said before I am a lurker on other blogs and I have been really inspired lately but I haven't had the time to try new pages for my scrapbook. Maybe now I will!

Heading Out

For the wedding this weekend... And I was thinking about how Brad, Craig and I used to hang out when we were younger. Somewhere along the line Brad and I had decided that we would help each other find a girl/boy friend. That never did quite happen, and Brad managed to pick out a wonderful girl all on his own!

Congratulations to the two of you! And welcome to the family Larissa!

Go Figure

Of course, after my last post on how much I love fall and the cool weather it became hot again...

Hot enough to swim in Lake Superior the last two nights.

What do you do?

I love fall

The first day of school for so many people was today... I remember always being excited for the first day of school. I kinda was wishing that I had decided to go back. Or rather, that I had gotten my act together to take some classes.

Only problem is, I want to take a photography class. And I would love to take a Finnish class. But I can't quite figure out how that would relate to my job, so that they would pay for it...

Fall always seems like a time for new beginnings. Maybe that's because of the start of school, the new year... New classes, new teachers, etc. Of course, I haven't been to school in a few years now but it always has that effect on me. I love fall, it is my favorite season.

Love the crisp air. The colors. The weather. The stormy skies. The cider mills (one of the few things I really miss from home)... Even cold, rainy days.
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Aaron and I went out to Will and Lori's tonight. Saw the new baby there. She's tiny (6 lbs 7 oz). Baby's are so precious. It seems you always forget how small they are until you see a newborn.

We were up in the Harbor this weekend also. His family goes camping up there every Labor Day weekend. It was fun to be there and to visit. I think we saw my family more this summer than we saw his. Funny how that works, you make time to see the out-of-towners but always figure that you'll see the ones who live here without making plans.

It was nice to have the day off yesterday. I cleaned house. I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend who will help me with that. So we finished that early in the day and spent the evening with his family. Brett and Shelby were picking out clothes to wear for the first day of school.

Kinda put me in the mood to go shopping. Even if I'm not going back to school I can get new clothes for the fall right?

I was looking...

...at the pictures from earlier and decided that I really needed to play with the one of Emily...

That's better don't you think?

Picture Posting Mood

I may be boring everyone with my pictures but here are a few more from my trip to the camp earlier this summer.

It was Bryan's birthday yesterday!


So beautiful

Happy BIrthday Aaron!!!

He received a fly-fishing rod and reel for his day, so this will be how we spend the afternoon!

As Promised

Here are some pictures from the reunion in no order whatsoever! Luke
Levi
Em, Addy, Lia
Jenna

Aaron and T
Playing the knots game
Spectators
Tom and Aaron
Morgan, Steve, Robert

Cari and Rachel
Kelli and Emily
Eli
Laura and Jean
(Un) Happy campers

Whoops, are they going to be mad at me for posting that last one? Let me know and I'll take it off!