Snowy Saturday

I could lie and tell you that this last pic is me and Jace headed down the hill together- but nope, I was just holding the camera. That's the principal of his middle school--I think the kids think she's a pretty cool principal already, and I'm sure she just went up a couple more degrees in Jace's book, out there sledding with the kids.

Snowy Saturday

Oh, I'm glad it is Saturday! Even though we had a lot of snow (6 to 8 inches, is my unofficial estimate), I was up fairly early at 8AM, let the doggies out and back in, and headed out to take care of my Saturday morning errands. Was looking forward to checking in at Weight Watchers because I think I've had a pretty good week, and am down a couple of pounds. But apparently the WW staff and leaders were taking a snow day, or at least a snow morning, because the door was locked and lights were off at 9:30. So, I guess I'll have to go back tomorrow or Monday.

Now we're finishing laundry (me), viola practice (Jace) and a few other things before heading out to the nearby elementary school to let Jace and a friend hit the slopes with their sleds. The snow is that awesome powdery kind that's perfect for sledding, AND it is warm enough today for him to enjoy sledding without getting too cold. Will be bringing my camera to capture the fun!

I Got Got Got Got No Time...

(Chorus "No Time" by The Guess Who, 1970)

Ever had a week where you feel like poor ol' Rocko here!?? This is me in a nutshell lately... just a crazy time at work, at home, and in general! Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been a bad couple of weeks, just BUSY! Here's a few pics to sum up the last week and a half:

Now he's a METAL MOUTH (kidding! what a cutie)



NEW DUTCH OVEN!




COLLEGE ROOMIE MOVIN' BACK TO TOWN!




BACK TO THE GRIND...

SHARING FINANCIAL PEACE - on 3rd week of class

Add 40+ hours of work, Junior League meetings, Jace's basketball practice and games, keeping up with housework (not very successfully), and finding time for a date night with hubby (Saturday night, Japanese steakhouse, yum!) and it is easy to see why I've not posted a thing in over a week. Looking forward to a pretty quiet weekend, and some time to catch up!

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If You Know Me, You're Not Surprised...

There's a lot of things that I don't do so well, but boy howdy, I CAN spell. Hubby likes to joke that I used to send his love letters back with corrections - he jests, of course. What really happened is that a few dates in I confessed to him that I really took notice of the fact that his emails to me were spelled correctly and used proper grammar. He's never let me live that down (he owes it mostly to spellcheck, apparently, but hey - at least he uses it). Grammar nerd, grammar Nazi, whatever you want to call me. It is just a pet peeve of mine.

Created by Oatmeal

I got this quiz from another blogger, Karen; check out her post, I loved it! Happy Thursday!

I have had a post planned, about my new Canon (digital but not SLR) camera and my research on REALLY learning how to use it, not just point-and-shoot on AUTO, like I always have before... I figure I might get a little feedback and tips from at least one reader (my girl Lucas!)... but more on that another day when I have the time and energy.

Tired tonight, and it is only Tuesday. Jace had a basketball game at 5:30, which I took him to and had to leave halfway through for a task force meeting that lasted from 6pm until almost 9:30... this is a Junior League task force and it has been meeting for a year and a half, on restructuring the board. It has been a LONG process, and more than once I've considered stepping down because of time, but we are almost done. And, I've gotten some great experience on really reading, interpreting and changing bylaws and policies for a non-profit board, which is a helpful skillset to have under my belt. But, true to my post about my growth in 2009, I'm not signing up for additional leadership duties when this is done - I'm wrapping this up and not putting something else in its place. Well, maybe I'm considering praise band at church, but that's not the same thing... that's using my musical talent, a different side of my brain - we'll see what happens!

My college roomie "T" is coming in town on Thursday, and I'm looking forward to drinks/dinner with her. She's in final interviews for a TV reporter position here in Springpatch, so it would be great to have her back here. At the very least we'll enjoy catching up Thursday night, but hopefully she gets the job and I'll see her a lot more.

Dave's traveling more every week, with a new position as VP of sales in his company. Once he gets his sales reps in his two offices up and running the travel will decrease, but for now he is gone 3+ nights a week. We talked tonight about a date night this weekend, we both agreed it would be a really good thing. He is so tired when he gets home off the road, and really just likes to veg with his laptop and the TV, to wind down. But after he's had a chance to do that, it will be good to also have some time for just the two of us to catch up; looking forward to that on Saturday night.

Off to bed, an early morning meeting will be here before I know it.

In Their Shoes

Sometimes it is so easy to have a "poor me"day... when I've had problems at work, or my son is being a typical 'tween with an attitude, or, well, you know -- just fill in the blank with whatever it is that is stressful!! But then something happens to make me realize how insignificant all my problems are when compared with what some others experience every day.

Check out my friend Anne's post on her experience this week in a Poverty Simulation project, sponsored by local organization Ozarks Community Action Corporation. That's all I need to say; just read her post, and I think you'll agree she's given us all a little inspiration for this week by sharing her eye-opening experience.

Tastier Than a Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

I really wanted to come up with an Elvis song that would be make sense as the title of this post (you'll see why in a minute), but I got nothin'. Blue Suede Shoes? Nope. Heartbreak Hotel? Nada. Let's see, was there anything that he sang that would fit with a fun night and a great dinner? If YOU are more familiar with The King and can think of something that would fit, let me know. But all I'm remembering that's even close was Elvis' affinity for these weird sandwiches. And yes, our dinner was MUCH better than a pb & b sandwich (in my humble opinion!).

Saturday night was our turn to host dinner for some couples from our dock at the lake, and Dave was the star of the evening with his Italian feast. He fixed his eight-hour sauce, which is absolutely delish - meatballs, pork loin and beef ribs simmered in homemade spaghetti sauce for hours... yum! He also made eggplant parmesan and chicken parmesan to accompany the spaghetti - it was quite the feast!



This was only the third time he's fixed this meal in the 3+ years we've been together, so I was looking forward to it. It is quite a bit of work and prep, but our guests all loved it, & we had enough sauce left over for several more meals this week. My contribution to the evening's meal was a spinach salad with strawberries, kiwi and chopped walnuts, AND I picked up some cannolis from DiGiacinto's. It is one of our favorite places to eat, and the owner, Sam, fixed us up with four regular cannolis and four chocolate covered cannolis, all of which were devoured (Ok, yes, I had more than one. I'm horrible when it comes to good desserts!).

We enjoyed several bottles of wine over the course of the evening, our friends brought some great bottles of wine. And, in honor of Elvis' 75th birthday, we also opened a bottle that Dave had picked up a few weeks ago:



The jokes and the impersonations (thanks, Carl!) were better than the wine, but guess you can't expect too much out of an $8.00 bottle of Elvis' finest! I had to get a few shots of Rocky, he spent much of the evening in "hiding" under the table. He feels most comfortable where he is close to people but still safe and out of sight, silly dog.

Rocky was the only quiet one Saturday night, though; we all laughed and talked and enjoyed dinner and drinks for several hours. It was quite the evening, with plenty of wine and then someone (ahem, honey) broke out the shot glasses for some of the group.

What's so funny, Carl?

We were enjoying wine and chocolate cake - what a combo!

It was a great evening with some wonderful friends, and we also were so happy to have Paige join us for the latter part of the evening and stay through Sunday afternoon. She had been in Dallas visiting a friend, and Saturday night was one of the last nights that Dave would be able to see her (since he is traveling this week) before she leaves to go back to college on Wednesday.

This week has already been busy, with a meeting last night and then Jace getting braces today and having a basketball game tonight. His mouth is hurting tonight; I remember how it was getting braces, back when I was his age. I'm sure it will take him some time to get used to that mouth full of metal, poor guy! Time to get some dishes and laundry done, and get ready for another day.