Once in a blue Moon

Did you see the moon tonight? If you can you should go look at it. I had intended on having an amazing-my-photography-teacher-would-have-been-so-proud-of-me picture of it here so as to amaze you with it. BUT, it's cloudy. Dang it. POUT.
I almost busted out the camera last night as it was crystal clear out and beautiful, but I decided that would be cheating and that somebody who knows something would totally call me on the fact that it was not quite a FULL moon yet.

Anyway. Kind of fitting and fun that a blue moon falls on New Year's Eve. Epic even. Maybe.
Or not. Seeing as how I can't see it, maybe that's a sign.

2009 was kind of a sucky year for me. I had high hopes for it to be amazing and it seemed to just spark, fizzle, and smoke; never really getting off the ground.

So - lifting my Blue Moon Shock Top to you 2010 - Here's to a better year!!

Sights of Christmas

technically I took this this picture weeks ago....I meant it to be a third Sunday/pink candle anticipation deal. But - I got busy. Apparently. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A few days after this Will said something about how the icicle was a beautiful specimen of an icicle but that he wouldn't eat it since our roof was sooooo dirty. I gave him my 'I can't believe you just said that, that is sooo disgusting' look.

And then I got to thinking about it.

I DID eat icicles as a kid. Did I have a criteria for possible watery pops? I honestly can't remember. I know I had hard and fast rules about edible snow, but icicles?


hmmm....

Maybe He Will Grow Up to Be Pope Someday

If I could figure out how to subtitle I would do it for you.

Or maybe he's just working on his Latin translation...I have heard that we are going back to some of that in the near future.

Words you might be able to pick out:
Alleluia
Bless the Lord
about the 50 sec mark, with arms out stretch, "Lord hear our prayers"

Weird - yes.
Cute - yes.
Should I be worried yet?

HOW COLD IS IT??

It's sooooo cold outside that the eggs are freezing solid in the nests and cracking.

What to do with them?

Compost pile or eat?

I was too chicken to let one thaw and crack it open to see what it looked like and to cook it up and see if it tasted different.

And for the record.

-16

not.hot.at.all.

Bittersweet

Monday was a Snow Day - Yippee!!!!

But UNR didn't get their act together until after my children were on their way to daycare. So...I got to stay home by myself, but I was kind of sad about it.

There's nothing more enjoyable than watching your children play in the year's first big snowfall. And with mine being so young, they still are quite intrigued with snow.

I did get a ton of things done though, that I would not have been able to do with them home.

I shoveled the driveway, twice

I did six loads of laundry (yes I am that far behind)

I did two loads of dishes

I made turkey soup

I cleaned the snow out of the chickens shelter and made sure they were surviving

I caught up on some DVR programs

I wrapped presents

I sorted toys for good-will

So it was productive. But I did find myself standing at the front window watching all the children sled down our street and wish my family was all out there participating in the fun.

The cogs they are a whirling...(Or Rebekah is In-Demand)

Remember how I told you it was Jalapeno Jelly making time? Well we are waaaaay past that now. The pectin has been shelved. The canner has been boxed up. The jelly jars were lined up in a row.

Yep. You read that right. WERE. They are all gone!!!!

First, I gave a couple away to family members. Then I got an email from the sister-in-law saying the girls at work were loving the jalapeno jelly and could she get another jar to share. Pretty soon the emails started rolling in more frantically. PLEASE SEND MORE JELLY - ASAP.

Then, came the most unexpected and wonderful email yet. One of SIL's co-workers wanted to BUY some jars of jelly. Seriously. I never would have imagined as much. I had dreams of having to invent wild and crazy recipes just to use up all of the jars of jalapeno jelly in my cupboard. Because it would be in my hips best interest if I did not eat all of the above mentioned jelly slathered on Ritz crackers with copious amounts of cream cheese.

So anyway, humbled by the request, yet nervous about selling something that someone else possibly, maybe wouldn't like, I declined the money. I gave the jars away under the guise of "building up a strong and faithful fan base".

But next year....

Oh next year....

sweet with a little bit of heat next year....

When I have jalapenos heaped up and overflowing the basket on my kitchen counter, maybe-just-maybe, I won't readily send them out the door with Will to give away at work because I'm sick of looking at all that green.

And maybe I'll be making a little bitty bit of green to keep myself.

Are people just getting lazy or what????

You know what I was pondering as we trekked back up our driveway after a few hours of trick-or-treating?

I think people are getting lazy.

gasp

no really

or else its the economy

but that gets blamed for everything these days

Or else people just don't care as much about Halloween as they used to.

We walked the mile-ish block that makes up our sub-division. There were jack-o-lanterns, there were a few cute purple and orange colored giant spiders, and that's about it. Sad. Where were the scare-the-living-daylights-out-of-you-we-better-not-take-the-kids-to-that-house decorations? Seriously people.

I have expectations you know!

I have some pretty good childhood memories of shrieking in fright and clinging to a sibling as some Bogey-man of sorts jumped from behind the bushes or grabbed your hand as you reached into the candy bowl.

Now admittedly, we woozies were quite the slackers. I would like to blame it on The Boy's plethora of business trips and general lack of being around the house this month.

I guess we are going to have to step it up a notch too next year. I'm up for the challenge.