Home!

After two weeks, we have returned home. Italy was beautiful! Here is a recap... The above photo is our daily breakfast while at a bed and breakfast in Florence, about mid way through our trip.
We started our journey as a family of eight. My husband and myself, our two daughters, my mother-in-law and father-in-law, my sister-in-law and her fiancee. We took flights from the US to Venice... we had some flight issues, including missing a connecting flight due to "heat sensor issues" in the plan from Chicago, causing a layover in Helsinki, and an hour and a half on the tarmac. After said flight issues (more than I listed here), we arrived in Venice, but without all 8 of our checked bags... they were "lost". So, bagless, we headed to Venice for two nights. The hotel was in a less busy area of the town and was very nice. We took a tour that had us walking around, hearing the history in the morning, a break for us to find lunch and then heading back for a boat tour in the evening.
Next, we headed on to Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre means 5 towns, and Vernazza was the one we stayed in. One day we went to the Northern most town and hiked back to Vernazza. The hike was 3K and took us about 2 1/2 hours-it was on the side of the cliff, sometimes with no railing, just a drop off. It was scary, invigorating and a joy for the eyes. Beautiful sights, wonderful food and wine and swims in the ocean. We still didn't receive our bags, so we bought swimsuits, sunscreen and a few necessities.
The next day we all traversed on to Florence, another beautiful, historically significant town. Florence was more busy than the first two towns, quite a change. On our second day there we took a tour which bussed us first to Sienna, then on to an organic farm that showed us around their family farm, served us a delightful lunch and wines all made there except cheese. Delicious! After lunch, we boarded the bus and headed to San Gimignano, the city of towers, and after that we went to Pisa. Yes, we took the silly photos holding up the leaning towers. ;) We returned to our hotel to find that our bags had still not arrived.
We called and told the airport to send our bags home, when they had been found. We were going on to Assisi, my parent-in-laws were heading on to Rome and my sis-in-law and her beau were heading to the Amalfi Coast. Too much trouble to try to get the right bags to the right people in three spots.
We four went to Assisi and followed in St Francis and St Clare's footsteps. Amazing, simply beautiful, the religious sentiment and the town, too. Not nearly as touristy as Florence and peaceful. It was warm, but it had a wonderful breeze. It was nice for us to share that time just us four.
The next morning the four of us got on a train and headed to Rome, where we were all meeting back up for the remaining last three days. Amazing ruins everywhere you looked! At this point I was nearly on information overload, seeing the statue of David in Florence, as well as many other historical artworks, then Sistine Chapel and Vatican City in Rome, the Coliseum, so much to take in, so much to learn or relearn... a once in a lifetime family trip, for sure!
Then, we had more flight issues, and learned from a neighbor that only 6/8 bags had arrived at home. A missed connection (our flight from Rome to Madrid was held up to wait for a late family-thirty minutes late, which put us eleventh in line to take off...) you guessed it, missing our flight from Madrid to JFK. We had gone through security and all eight of us ran through the airport to make it with a minute to spare, so we thought...The plane was still at the gate in Madrid but they told us, even though we had one minute to gate closing time, we couldn't get on. :( The airline wouldn't check for another flight, just told us we were scheduled for the same time... the next day. A total of thirteen people missed that flight... The airline put us up in a nearby hotel, with three free meals. We didn't go venture out, knowing we'd have to spend more money, when we could have free meals at our hotel. It had internet and a nice pool, which made it bearable. :) The weather was beautiful that evening!
The next day we hopped onto our flight and then sat in JFK for our four hour layover... then our plane from JFK to our home airport wouldn't start, so we sat on the tarmac some more and they came and jumpstarted our plane... always makes the passenger feel safe. ;) But, we made it around 11 pm, exhausted and ready to sleep in our own beds. :) Another bag came while we were in Madrid, but my husband's was still missing when arrived home. It came on Friday, twelve hours after we had been home. No luggage for two weeks... We had packed too much, probably, and were very thankful not to have to lug them uphill to some hard-to-reach hotels, but it was frustrating, also.
I have uploaded the (about) 1500 pictures from my camera, as well as our girls' cameras. I need to weed them out, still, get rid of duplicates, etc, but that will come later this week. I have been catching up on emails and reading blogs, as well as doing the small bit of laundry we had to do. Another bonus of losing luggage? ;)
Thank you for making it all the way through this post! :) I will be posting more, and more regularly, now that hte preparation for international travel and the actual trip are over. :) Hugs to you, dear reader! :)

Ages

It has been ages since I sat and typed up a post. I have thought many times over the last few weeks: I have to blog that! But, alas, I haven't gotten to it. We spent a little over a week out of town, driving the very long drive to Disney in Orlando. Then we spent 5 days there and headed back. It was a wonderful family vacation for the four of us. Although, I've felt lazy since we got home. No one to clean up after us and make our beds! :) We got a complimentary upgrade to a very fancy room. It was delightful, and I enjoyed being spoiled! :)

Running... I've been running. It's been an interesting process. I feel soreness, pain, fatigue... then I wonder what to push through (thus preparing me for a marathon!) and when to let my body/legs/immune system rest? Last year I pushed right into a broken leg, and I know I won't be winning any marathons, and sometimes I push myself so hard that I don't feel like myself (ie with patience) towards my family. I'm reading Run Like a Mother and it's very good. It's inspiring and I am enjoying it. I'm planning on reading Born to Run, as well, in the near future. I do enjoy reading about running. It makes me excited to lace up and get out there. I have had such sore shins, then when that seemed to finally lessen, my achilles hurt for a few days, as well as my calf muscle. Today I felt defeated when I ran only 7 of my suggested 10, but my stomach attacked around then and I stopped at home instead of continuing on for three more. It felt like the right decision at the time, but after I was kicking myself. I am training for the full marathon, but am wondering if the half is better for me, to get back to fun... I think I wonder this each time I begin marathon training and life gets in the way of me following the schedule exactly. But this year, I am wondering if my legs (and mind?) would enjoy doing a half or two before I get back to a full... I keep mulling it over-a mental game, a process... Keep running to get fit, for sure, but the rest will come. Oh, I did try a few portions of runs (half miles on four different occasions) barefoot and enjoyed it immensely! I stretched before and after and didn't seem to be in too much pain... no more than I had started the run with, anyway, with shoes on. That Barefoot Angie Bee has me really intrigued and inspired. :)

I've been researching digital scrapbooking. I'm often at my computer, and I love the ease of working with photos. I love the process of paper and creativity that scrapbooking brings, too, so I'm researching, learning, leaning towards a hybrid, possibly. I will keep you posted on how that works out.

It's been nice to be away from the worries of "a job or no job" for the fall. There haven't been any new openings posted. They usually open more up again, on Aug 1. We'll see... Until then, no worries... Which is easier said than done. I must keep praying. I have no idea what God has in store for me at this point.

I have so enjoyed reading blogs that I frequent. I try to comment, often, so the writers know I enjoy their musings, like http://mollybawnchronicles.blogspot.com/, Isabelle, Momo, Juls, Kelly, Ali, Cathy and Thimbleanna, to name a few. I will try to post more, as well! :)

Hope your summer is going great! :)

Happy Holidays!

After a nice, long family weekend, I am currently typing up my next blog entry. I am in the car, with no network to connect to the internet, but thought it would be a good use of time to blog! I know, I know, it took me long enough! :)

Our weekend was a family gift from my husband's parents. His siblings and their families were also on the trip. We all took a day of driving, went to Nashville, TN, and saw things like the Hermitage, General Jackson's showboat, Charlie Brown ice sculptures and the Opryland hotel. It was a wonderful weekend! We are on our long drive back.

On our last car trip I thought to download podcasts to listen to. I was just starting out with podcasts, so I only grabbed one or two I had seen suggested on scrapbookers' blogs. I enjoyed them immensely, and downloaded a few new ones for this long car trip. While on our trip, we talked about podcasts, and my brother-in-law mentioned that he listened to “things you should have learned in history class” or something like that and “how stuff is made”. Both had really interesting topics. I downloaded a few, but as of my writing this, I haven't listened to them, yet.

For our trip, I prepared the items from one of the contests I won; the scrapbooking kit. It had almost all the items for an embellished Christmas themed album, but needed some things cut on my big papercutter. So, the night before we left, I spent about 45 minutes cutting, assembling, and organizing each page's items into a plastic carrying box. Then, on the trip, with breaks here and there, and a little bit on the way home, I assembled it. It turned out very cute. I look forward to using it as my December Daily album for this year! Especially with the pictures from this weekend! :) It was a great prize! I wouldn't have purchased it on my own, but have loved it and hope to get more kits similar! I will be a regular on their site!

One of the breaks from the scrapbook that I took was to begin reading to my husband. I think I've mentioned before that on car trips we both enjoy Nicholas Sparks books. We've read several to each other since we have been married. On car trips we start them, taking turns driving/reading, and then we are far enough into the book that we can't put it down and read it in the evenings once we're home. If it's a real page turner, we “steal” it from each other and devour it in our spare moments! :) The one we've currently started is the Last Song. I had bought it a few car trips ago, but we didn't get it started. Then, we went to see The Princess and the Frog, and there was a preview for a movie that was based on the book. Now, I have those movie characters in my head when I read it. Blech. ;) I much prefer to form my own pictures in my head before I see a movie! :)

I am ready for the holidays! We have just a few gifts-one we've been looking for all over, but have had a hard time finding. We also have a few things for the great grandparents. But everything else is bought, wrapped and I'm pleased with. Ahhh. :) Maybe I can get a few moments to scrapbook? A little gift to myself, now that the contest scrapbook kit got my creative juices flowing?

This week, as we lead into Christmas, I have baking to do, the last gifts, listed above, and some family time. I look forward to that. I also need to make sure I call my parents and grandparents, since I haven't and feel as though I should do it more often. Then I will need to deliver the previously mentioned baked goods to neighbors and friends.

I have been exercising nicely, as of late. I ran Thursday and Friday of last week, even though the temps were low. Then, Saturday we were driving. Sunday, my oldest daughter and I got up early and used the hotel's exercise room. We worked out; I made myself tired. Today, Monday, we're traveling again. But, back to it again tomorrow. Those were specific attempts at exercise. We also walked around, to most of our destinations this weekend, and at most of our destinations, so I felt good about that, as well. Although, the eating made it all come out in a wash, I think. ;)

Hopefully I really will write again soon! :) Thanks for sticking in there and reading my rare posts! ;) Happy Holidays to you, Reader.

Nope

Nope, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. :) It just seems that way when reading my posts, or lack thereof. :)
Running:
I officially started my marathon running today. I ran a nice paced four miles. And felt great after! :) Looking forward to being able to run all summer, hopefully, and to breaking four hours in October.
Gardening:
I have worked in my front perennial garden, adding some foxglove, which I didn't think I would have liked, in years past. I love it, and its placement is perfect. We also got a load of soil that helped the appearance and health of the plants, as well. We built our first garden box for vegetables this year. I always wish I'd planted one, but never take the time to do so. This year my husband made a box over Mother's Day weekend, that is 12 x 8, I think. And a couple feet high. I have cherry and grape tomatoes, big tomatoes, green sweet peppers and jalapeno peppers. I have cilantro and two hills; one for cucumbers and one for zucchini. I also have a pot on the patio with basil, cilantro and parsley. I hope it all fairs well. I have fond memories of my dad planting the garden, letting me help, and getting yummy tomatoes fresh from the garden! I loved to go out and look at it with him. I hope my girls have that same fun with me this summer. :)
Wine: I tried a new wine this week: Pinot Noir. I knew I liked red wines, but hadn't ventured outside of what I knew I liked. Then my in laws came over for Mother's day and brought some. It was very nice, smooth. I did know, however, that I liked malbecs, having learned about them for a wine party we had here once. I found that malbec was my favorite red. I tried a new one tonight: Terrazas de los Andes 2006. It was very good.
Teaching: My teaching is going well. I am learning so much. The staff there has helped me out when I've asked, the kids are adjusting and treating me more like their teacher, as opposed to a substitute teacher. :) I am enjoying it, now, just like I did the last two long-term jobs I've had. I just pray God has a full time job for me in the fall. I've heard it's going to be sparse job-wise, locally. I put a lot of energy into my jobs, so I haven't had much time to update the blog, or read the blogs I love like In This Life or Thimbleanna, lately.
Mother's Day: I hope all of you mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day! I certainly did! I received a Starbucks latte, and warm krispy kremes in bed (I'm not usually a huge fan of the extra sweet doughnuts, but warm, with my coffee, they were delectable!)I got gifts of lotion and chocolates! I enjoy chocolate, but haven't received it for a Mother's Day gift before. My husband and children got me a box of specially selected dark chocolates from the store in our local mall. They have been delicious!! I have eaten one about every other day. Yum! Good thing I'm running! :)
The weather is finally turning out to be nice, probably for about a week or so before it gets too hot! :)
Books: I'm reading the Food Guide for Marathoners, Nightmare at the Book Fair (which I'm reading to my class), and that is all I have had time to read since I've spent so much time grading and planning! :)
In the last month: Since I wrote last, we took a trip to Philadelphia, PA, and saw important parts of our nation's history, like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's home site, Betsy Ross's home, and other really interesting things! We had a really nice time! We have also been to several soccer games, track meets, and other kid friendly activities. :) I have enjoyed it, and this spring. Just sitting here feeling thankful for our family, our health, our friends, church and town... Just feeling very blessed. How about you? I hope you're enjoying that blessed feeling as you read this. Have a good week, Reader. :)

Spring Break

Our spring break trip was wonderful. It was a bit windy on most days, but the sun and time to relax were lovely! I got a sunburn on Thursday, but thankfully it is a tan, now. That doesn't usually happen to me! :) I had actually taken the sunscreen (60+!:)) and just didn't realize the time was passing so quickly. Both my girls went the whole week without a red sunburn! I thought they were pink at one point, but it was from playing and getting warm, not the sun. They did get a bit of color, but no major tans. Regular readers know my skin/mole history has me a bit concerned about sun/sunscreen! :) We camped in our camper and had a delightful time with my in-laws. The new van pulled the camper very well, too. :)
While gone, I read The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. Good book, if you like Nicholas Sparks. My husband and I took turns reading it aloud to each other unless the daughters were around, then we just took turns reading chapters.
When we returned home I had mounds of laundry to do, but am almost caught up, now. Of course I start my long-term sub job tomorrow, so we'll see how "caught up" the laundry stays. :) I'm nervous, hoping to do a great job planning, teaching and getting to know the students better. I'm very excited, too. :)
It's raining, here, and chilly, but is sure nice to be back home. :)
Have a great week, Reader! :)

The Weekend

Here it is, another weekend, too long since my last post. I've been subbing and running errands. I've also been trying to get some things ready in advance for our spring break trip. We'll be camping again, with my in laws on the beach. I so look forward to it, especially with snow in the forecast for tomorrow. I will be shivering and thinking of pending sunshine. :)
I did end up running a 7 miler the day after I posted last, but that is the max distance for me, so far. I've been to my yoga class, and will miss it the week we're gone on break.
I've been thinking of ideas and projects for the long term sub position that will start in just a few weeks. I finished reading the newest Laura Childs book: Oolong Dead, a Tea Shop Mystery. They're always a good, fast read, filled with details and descriptions about food that make me drool. ;) I'm still reading The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austin for our book club, also. For our trip I have The Lucky One and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society to read on our trip, since I heard they both were good. I have a few others on reserve at the local library, but most are out to other people and may not arrive before we leave. I've reserved some classics like A Separate Peace and Of Mice and Men. I haven't read them since high school and I like the different perspective I have on books, now, reading them as an adult.
I've been on Facebook a bit here and there, but not very much lately; too busy, I guess. I did change my quote today, though. Here is the new one:
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." -Albert Einstein
My girls started their spring sports seasons last week. My oldest is running track and my youngest is playing soccer. Both were excited to get started since they've had practices for a while. Now we're just all hoping for nicer weather for their competitions (and our viewing! :))
That is all I have for now. I have been reading blogs and enjoying them, just haven't had time to sit down and write my own, lately. I will try to post again before spring break. Hope you are well!

Busy Few Days

Dec 12 we all headed to my home state for my aunt's funeral. It was sad, obviously. Reminded me of how little I see family, and how much more I should. I was glad to be there for my grandmother (Dad's mom). Also made me wonder if this was just the beginning; as they are all in the same age group, some with health issues, the beginning of trips there for sadness...

Dec 13 we went out to the usual breakfast place with my grandparents, made two dishes to pass (my usual gooey bar recipe, doubled) headed off to my mother's mother's family get together. We had a nice Christmas visit with them, saw more people I hadn't seen in ages, but missed seeing my Uncle Duane who is ill.

After that party we ran some errands with my mom and dad, like to Meijer, Starbucks, all the necessities. :)

Then we headed to my Dad's Dad's party. (Yes, we got to see three branches from the family tree! :)) It was great to see this family, too. No, I wasn't tired of family, yet! We hadn't seen some of them in so long, and they hadn't seen my daughters! They couldn't believe how much they'd grown, and how little I still was! ;) It was good to chat with everyone, and trade photos and hugs, at all of the get togethers.

We headed back here after the party, arriving in our garage a little before midnight. Yawn! The girls were supposed to try to sleep on the way home, but didn't get much sleep in! :) I had read more At Home In Mitford to my husband as he drove. It made our trip go much faster!

Dec 14 We all slept in a little yesterday, cleaned house a little bit, the husband made a grocery run, headed to later church, went out for lunch, went home and finished up cooking, cleaning, and then our life/church group arrived for a potluck dinner. We made sloppy joes, fruit salad, finger veggies and dip, and other people brought the other goodies. We started at 4:30 and people stayed until almost 9! We had a wonderful time just visiting and laughing. A great holiday meal.

Dec 15 is today, and we have a busy afternoon! My youngest has piano, book club, basketball practice, and my oldest babysits the neighbor kids. I will be the "taxi driver". :) I also have wrapping and some shopping to finish.

I hope you have a wonderful day, this start of the week!

End of November

It is already the last day of November, unbelievably. In the past week, we have gone and gotten my grandma, spent the week with her (and had a very nice time!), went up to my home state for Thanksgiving, had a great few days there (including shopping on the day after Thanksgiving!), came home, got all my Christmas decorations out yesterday, went and cut the tree with my husband's family today, and decorated said tree. The tradition for the tree, as I think I've mentioned before, is to meet at a coffee/doughnut place, go cut the trees, then head into a nearby town to a small town restaurant, have lunch, head home, the husband puts the angel and lights on the tree, and then the girls and I decorate it. This year the hubby's brother and his family were also able to come, which made it even more fun! :) Our tree wasn't so large this year, it's actually perfect! :)
So far, I don't have any jobs scheduled, except Dec. 10 and 11th, for conferences. I think I will be able to find plenty to do with the approaching holidays, though! :) I will keep looking, as well.
During last week, we had my grandmother here, and one night my husband's grandparents were visiting so we had them over for a big dinner. Tried a new recipe and it was a huge success: Huckleberry BBQ This recipe uses beef brisket, and we used pork shoulder. I cooked the pork on one day, in the crockpot for about 8 hours, then the next day put the pork, that had been pulled apart, in the sauce. We also made a pasta salad, baked potatoes, onion loaf with sauce, and apple fritters.
I haven't run in two weeks. I need to get back at it again.
I did reschedule oldest daughter's wisdom teeth removal for the 2nd of Jan. so she was relieved! :) Wouldn't have been a fun New Year's Eve, if I hadn't! :)
That's all for now! Happy (almost) December! :)

Camping and Other Adventures

Last weekend we went camping with my in laws. We had a wonderful time! We went a few hours to a campground on Lake Erie. We had some rain, but luckily we were in a pop-up instead of a tent! :) We spent time on the beach, biking, and traveled to some local sights. We saw Kelly's Island, Marblehead's lighthouse, among other things. We had a nice time just being together with family, too. We got great exercise, but ate a lot, too! :) My in laws made a blueberry cobbler in a dutch oven over the fire. YUM! We made a taco salad one night, very simple but yummy, and healthy, if you limit the dressing. We also tried a new dessert recipe: chocolate raspberry burritos. My husband was skeptical when I found and suggested it, but it was a great hit. We added mini marshmallows to the recipe. I went running one day; when I headed out at 6:30 it was sprinkling and the campground was quiet. When I got back, it was pouring and people were up and about. It was a wonderful rain run. Not too cold, not storming. It was perfect. Animals were out and about, but hardly any humans were stirring. :) Loved it!
I finished Beach House by Jane Green (a slow start, because I think I expected something different, but a good story once I got into it) and started The Art of Racing the Rain by Garth Stein. It's pretty good so far. I have them checked out from the library and, because they're new books, they are only out for 14 days, whereas the Suite Francaise book is out for much longer, as it is older. I still have it and am going to read it. :) I will keep you posted, Molly. :) Our trip to camping had a few hour ride both ways so I began reading aloud to the family. I'm reading a fun book, that has been a great read aloud thus far: The Name of this Book Is Secret. It's been quite funny and all of us are interested. I've been reading a chapter or two a night to the family since we've been back and the girls say "we can't be done; read one more chapter!" :)
Few little notes:

• I have been running almost everyday and am enjoying it! :)
• We're up to 39 state postcards! :)
• Sadly, the Japanese beetles have returned. They've turned my beautiful daisies and purple coneflowers into brown, shrivels.

That's all my news for now. Thanks for reading!

So Sorry!

It's been quite a while since I last posted. Updates on last information:

• Our dear friend with breast cancer is doing well. She is so positive and relying on her faith and prayers. She's had two sessions of chemotherapy and her hair has fallen out. Sometimes we see her with "Sally" (the wig) on and sometimes a cute bandanna. Her cancer is softening up a bit, so that's good. Two treatments down and four to go, for this phase. Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers for her!
  
• The Bible Study is going well. I am thoroughly enjoying the learning I'm doing, about the Bible and about myself.
• My parents are on their way here (hopefully safely through some slick weather!) And we take off tomorrow for a week's vacation with them. The weather where we're headed isn't supposed to be great, but should be fun, nonetheless. We haven't done a trip longer than 2-3 days with them since I've been married (13 1/2 years!)
• Still no scrapbooking and not much running since the last post. Hoping to remedy the latter on the trip!
• No subbing jobs since the longterm, because of the spring break vacation coming. I do have one for the Friday after the kids return from break.

I received an email from a high school classmate: 15 year reunion is being planned for this summer. Hardly seems like it's been 15 years. Interesting, though, how some things haven't changed....
I have appreciated catching up on fellow bloggers' posts! I'm sorry I haven't updated until now!
I will post more when we return from our trip. I have also updated links and my photo, tonight, but have to rest as we leave at 3am for our long drive Southward tomorrow. Fingers crossed that the kids do well!! :)
Thanks again for all your comments and well-wishes. They are greatly appreciated!
Happy Easter!

Vacations on Sunny, Quiet Beaches

Hello! It feels like a long time since I was in the "electronic age" of email and blogs, when in reality, it's only been six days. My four family members and my parents-in-law headed out last Friday for a vacation in South Carolina. We returned home around lunch time today.
We drove, they in their car, and us in our van, each pulling campers; they pulling their hard camper and we pulled our pop up. We drove for about five hours on Friday, then stopped in a truck stop to pull over and sleep. We got up bright and early, grabbed some coffee from the "caffeine giant" and began our drive. We got to our campsites in sunny South Carolina and began our glorious vacation. The beach was not as commercial as the popular spots, the sands were white and the shells were plentiful.
During our week, we drove to Savannah, Georgia for the day one day, drove to Charleston, South Carolina on a different day, and spent quite a bit of our other time at the beach. The breezes off the ocean weren't sweltering, but they were wonderful in combination with the fabulous sun. For regular readers: you can be sure I religiously applied my sunscreen and came away with nary a tan. :) My oldest said, "You look white, Mom!" and I replied, "Thanks!" :) I applied sunscreen just as liberally to my two girls, but they did come away with a slight tan.
We got up each day, all 6 of us, except the days we drove to other cities, and searched for the "perfect shell". We were searching for conch shells but were unable to find any that didn't have cracks, holes or weather damage to them. There were quite a few shells to choose from and a variety of shell types, colors and shapes. We also got up bright and early and saw the sunrise one day, as well as took a night walk on the beach with our flashlights and glowsticks on a separate night.
Regular readers know I thoroughly enjoy scrapbooking and taking photos (although I'm not that great at it, I still love to do it! :)) My camera snapped and clicked away quite often this week. I got photos of alligators, egrets, crabs, pelicans, gulls and the cities we traveled to.
Then, yesterday, the wind picked up and a cold front moved through. It was absolutely freezing. We got packed up and headed on our way towards home... and all was fine until we hit some mountains and blizzard like conditions! We had to go very slow, as did everyone on the road, with hazard lights flashing and knuckles white. My husband did a great job maneuvering and ignoring my gasps. :) We got to the same truck stop that we stayed at on the way down and snuggled in for a chilly night's rest...then at 11:30, there were harsh raps on the side of my in laws' camper... "State police! Open up!"I must tell you that we were all startled out of sleep. The police officer proceeded to tell us that we needed to move our camper and sleep in a different area. He directed us to the back/far side of the stop, I believe, so that other stoppers (due to the snow!) could park in the many spots we were using.
We got up, got our caffeine, again, and drove towards home. We had to stop about two hours from home due to more snow and visibility issues. We made it home fine. The in-laws stopped for a late breakfast and we headed onward. This was before the second bout of snow. Then we called them on the cell phone and warned them. When they headed back on the highway, a car passed them and slid on the ice down into a ditch, causing them to swerve and slide all over the road! Some scary moments for them, but luckily, they were ok, and their vehicles were, too.
I have started the long process of editing photos and working on the mounds of laundry. My husband has unloaded the camper and taken it to the car wash bay to clean off the sand, road salt and muck.
While on the trip, I started reading the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs. I have mentioned her scrapbooking series, and that I wanted to start these. They didn't disappoint and I have devoured four of them. I am currently into the fifth. My mom had purchased them, and having borrowed all of them from her, I could just pick up the next one after I'd finished! :)
All in all, we had a wonderful vacation with great family time, superb weather and enjoyable sites to see.

Happy Holidays!

I sit here typing, drinking my Earl Grey tea with milk (an activity passed on to me by a dear, English friend :)) and waiting for my unusually, red painted nails to dry. It is the holidays after all, so red nails, it is. :)

I have five minutes to blog before we begin to create our salad and fondue for the Christmas eve dinner. We are going to church at 5:30, where we are the advent candle lighting family, which means we four each say something about the waiting of advent being over, let the joy begin, and then my husband will light the candles. My husband's parents and grandparents will also be attending with us, which is special and joyful. Then we all head back here, to our home, for dinner. We have a tradition with my in-laws, where we try to create something new each Christmas eve. We started doing this about five years ago. In the past, we've had crab cakes, monte cristo sandwiches, turkey artichoke paninis and I can't remember what else. So, tonight is beef, shrimp, dipping sauces, cheese fondue for bread and vegetables, and chocolate fondue with amaretto and hazelnuts-recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23052,00.html?rsrc=search
for fruit dipping. Then, to top it off, Rachel Ray's Eggnog Bread Pudding. Here, I inform with the recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32458,00.html?rsrc=search

We had a great time in Chicago, packing many activities into four days and three nights. We had some transportation snafus, but nothing major and we were all safe. We visited the American Girl Place, Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, The Field Museum (including paying extra to see the King Tut exhibit, which was a long wait to see each item, but worth it. The historical value was tremendous, especially for our girls who enjoyed it and learned a lot!) We also swam a number of times in our hotel pool, went to some good restaurants and shopped the Magnificent Mile. Then we came home, and tried to catch up on chores and shopping to be ready for the holiday.

I got the many cards, photos and letters out in time for Christmas, and have received many in return. It's nice to receive items from long lost friends, photos of children and catch up on busy lives.

I sold some items on ebay, made about fifty-three dollars and found it was a pain in the neck to try to get everything shipped out in time to head to Chicago. I did some great shopping via ebay, though, getting some original, and unusual gifts for family. I'm pretty sure I spent more than I made, however!

Also, our church voted on the addition of the second campus, as I mentioned in a previous post. About two hundred people showed up for the vote. Thirty-one voted against, and one abstained. The rest voted for the merger, which is an exciting adventure for our church! :) Our recommendation was challenged at some of the question and answer sessions, but upon hearing our explanations, things were more well received.

Well, off to partake in cooking with my dear husband. He's the real chef around here. :) I'm the baker, he's the chef/creator. :)

Happy Holidays, dear readers, and be safe this season.

Family Trip

Now that the mounds of laundry are shrinking more house cleaning tasks have been attacked, I can sit down to blog. We went on a family vacation and since we've returned home, I have had much catching up to do. The piles of laundry filled my laundry room and it seemed as if it would never go away, after all, people keep wearing more clothes! :)
For our summer vacation this year, our family of four, as well as my brother-in-law's family of five, headed to Myrtle Beach. We drove, and it was a long drive. We stayed there for five nights and enjoyed the waves, sun and sand. The kids had a great time making sandcastles and we went to a midevil times show, which was a great dinner evening for all of us. www.mideviltimes.com And, oh yes, we sunscreened: should have bought stock in sunscreen. My poor daughters came out every hour to have me put a new layer on them.
After the beach, we separated and our family headed to Williamsburg. We only had time for one full day there, but we spent it wisely. The kids trooped through the heat all day, and we all had a great day! It was so interesting to see the buildings, reenactments and hear the stories of the times. We also stopped at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, on our drive home. It was a great stopover. I had never been to any of the three places, so I had a extremely wonderful trip. And for my hubby, he'd been to Williamsburg and Mount Vernon, but it'd been ages. The girls loved it, as well, especially my oldest who has studied the time periods in school.

An update on the nasty beetles: I found a chemical-which must be horrible to the environment because it smells like chemicals after you use it and it lasts for a day or so-that seems to rid them until the next rain washes it off! The bees and butterflies aren't bothered by it, so that is good, but the beetles keep returning and destroying my garden. It was sad to return from the trip and see half of my daisies brown with death, and purple coneflowers black from the nasties.

Summer has flown by. We still have one month left...one month! But July is about to be finished already! I cannot believe time has gone so fast. I think it goes faster as the children grow!

I finshed several books in the last three weeks since I've written:

• Wicked, which is very odd
• Keepsake Crimes, which was a fast, easy mystery
• Photo Finished, a sequel to the Keepsake Crimes
• and I began reading True Believer by Nocholas Sparks, as I like all of his books that I have read.

Tonight we take our neighbors out for dinner for keeping our two dogs the week we were gone, and then the week is half over! Hope the summer is going well for you.